Getting his world back
by Arienhod
Summary: Jocelyn thought her plan was flawless and her victory certain. She thought she could easily take from Leonard the last thing that tied them together. But friends don't let friends be double-crossed. They make sure they get their world back. With interest. *COMPLETE/outtakes in plan
1. Chapter 1

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm re-reading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>Jocelyn couldn't believe her luck. It seemed the universe was on her side. Yes, it was a pity that all those people are in danger but she can't do anything about it. Except taking advantage of the situation.<p>

In an unconscious movement she moved a strand of her golden-blond hair behind the ear. It was one of those little things she did to make sure her appearance was perfect. And right now she needed to look her best. She threw on her best and most seductive smile and went to the comm. to make a very important call.

On the way there she glanced at the grand table in the corner of the room that was overflowing with lists, business cards, samples, and other stuff she was collecting for the past few weeks. Luckily she still had seven weeks till the big day to decide on all the small but very important details.

Going through her digital phone book Jocelyn made several memos on who else she would have to call but for now there was only one person she needed to talk to. She found the number and pressed call. And then once more fixed her hair. She was Jocelyn Darnell, she needed to look perfect at all times.

"Jocelyn, what a pleasant surprise!" the charming man on the other side said. He was a long time friend of the Darnell family and he helped them many times.

"Roger, how are you? It's been a while I know but I need a favor."

At the word 'favor' she got his complete attention "I'm listening."

"I don't know if you watched the news just now but there is a plague on Tarsus IV, something about a fungus destroying crops and whatever… The Federation is organizing help, aid in food and water and medicine, I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, it's the Enterprise that is supposed to deliver the help and it will take them three days to reach that God forsaken planet. So… I need you to set up a hearing in the next five or six days."

Roger snorted, a sound not so fitting for someone like him "It can't just happen cause you want it. My calendar is filled. It would be rude and unprofessional to move any of the cases to a later date for no good reason."

Jocelyn rolled her eyes and huffed like a bratty teenage girl that was just told she can't have something that all her friends have " Exactly how many reasons do you need?"

"Twice as many as last time." the answer came out faster then Jocelyn expected but it didn't surprise her as much as it might before. After all everything had a price.

She smiled sweetly "Not a problem. Leonard left me more then enough money. Thanks to you, of course."

Roger smiled back "It was a pleasure. I never liked McCoy."

"No one liked him." Jocelyn muttered like she was disgusted that she was once married to the man she was not talking against "And speaking of my ex… do I have to tell him about the hearing?"

"The law requires that he is informed. Can't get around that one."

It was not something she wanted to hear. But she knew how Roger operated "Do you have a loophole for me?"

The silence lasted several seconds before she got the answer she wanted "I can find you one but it will cost you extra."

"All good things in life cost extra. When will you have a date for me?"

Roger laughed "Impatient, are we? An hour. Maybe more since you need that loophole."

Jocelyn knew exactly how to negotiate "I'll pay you three times as much as last time if you get me everything under an hour. Don't want Joanna coming home from school and hear me discussing her precious daddy."

"It's good to have a goal in life. I'll comm you under an hour Jocelyn."

"I'm looking forward to hear from you Roger." She smiled one last time before cutting off the connection.

Squealing like a little girl Jocelyn turned away from the comm. and just barely stopped herself from skipping to the table. She had some time to spend on planning the grandest wedding Atlanta has ever seen. She'll send Leonard a thank you note eventually, thanking him for funding it all. Maybe… she could send him an invitation for the wedding. Now that would be amusing.

* * *

><p>She was halfway through the guest list, trying to decide how to place everyone which wasn't easy cause half of her family couldn't stand the other half when the comm. chimed. Looking at the chronometer she had to smile; it was just over forty minutes since she talked to Roger. He really did earn every single credit she would be paying him once this whole mess was behind her.<p>

"What do you have for me?" she asked without greeting him. Not that Roger minded, he understood her impatience.

"The hearing is in five days. Nine in the morning. Good for you?"

"Perfect." Jocelyn smiled "And the other thing."

"According to the law you are required to call Leonard, there is no way around that part. But it doesn't specify that you have to look for his new comm. number now that he changed address, so to speak. You can simply comm. him on his last number. It should be in your comm. memory since you talked to him."

A frown appeared on Jocelyn's face "He contacted me from the Enterprise, Roger. So that's not the solution I need. I don't want to take a slightest risk of him getting some kind of transport back to Earth in time for the hearing."

"You worry too much. Even if he did showed up you know that wouldn't change anything. But just to assure you… Did you speak to him in the period since he went to that ship? Did you ever answer when he called?"

"No. I've been screening the calls in the past two years. I don't want him to have any contact to Joanna and her hearing his voice by accident wasn't something I was willing to risk. She is too much like him; she wouldn't give up till I caved. It's easier to tell her he hasn't been calling."

"So basically that last time you talked to him was when he was still in the Academy?" Roger asked.

"Yes. Why?" Jocelyn didn't understand what he was aiming at.

"Like I said, by law you need to call him on his last number you have and that one is stored in the comm. memory even if it isn't in your phone book. When you don't accept a call the number gets stored in a temporary memory but is deleted automatically after a week."

"Oh, so because I haven't talked to him the comm. number from the Enterprise doesn't count?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

Jocelyn laughed happily "Oh, I wish I could see his face when he finds out. Maybe I'll comm. him after the hearing. But unfortunately I can't cause I don't have the number! Thank you Roger!"

"It's been a pleasure. I will see you in five days."

"I can hardly wait!"

It was moments after the comm. screen became inactive that the front door opened and a little girl ran inside. Her brown hair flowed half way down her back and was currently plaited into a single plait tied with a red bow that matched her fancy dress and shoes.

"Momma, momma… did he called today?"

Jocelyn frowned. Not only did her daughter ran in the house, something she specifically forbid her to do, but she was also more interested in talking to someone who was light-years away then to her own mother.

"No sweetie, no one called."

"But he said he would call every month. He promised he would." Joanna's voice showed how hurt she was. But instead of showing some sympathy to her daughter's pain Jocelyn only added fuel to the fire.

"I guess he is far too busy, dearest, and has more important things to do then call you every month. Like he promised he would."

Joanna nodded sadly and turned away "I'm going to my room. I have homework."

"Yes, you should write it right away. I'll make you something to eat when you are done. And don't forget to change, the dress wasn't exactly cheap. I don't want you ruin it." She called after Joanna as the little girl was climbing up the stairs.

"I will momma."

Jocelyn smiled smugly and finally noticed the other person that came in the house the same time Joanna did "Mother, what brings you here?"

"Judge Korby called me an hour ago and gave me a summary of your plans. I have to say the timing is excellent. This way Clay can adopt Joanna right after the ceremony. I'll have Andrea prepare the documents."

Unknown to both women Joanna was standing on the top of the stairs listening to their conversation before she slowly went to her room. Tears were already forming in her eyes and she didn't know how to stop them from falling. After getting in and quietly closing the door, momma told her all the time she shouldn't slam them cause ladies don't do that, Joanna walked to her bed and sat down. On the pillow was an old purple stuffed animal. She claimed it was a dog even though her daddy told her it was a bear. She wanted a dog so- it was a dog.

"Do you think he has more important things to do then to call me, huh Plum? No? I don't think so either." Joanna whispered to her hairy friend "But momma says he is. She wouldn't lie to me, would she? But how does she know he has more important things to do if he doesn't call?"

The nine-year-old girl continued to sit on her bed, in silence, waiting for answers she didn't get.

* * *

><p>A cadet exited the bathroom and noticed his roommate finally got back from class. But for some reason he seemed distracted. It didn't take long for his friend to remember why and laugh.<p>

"Let me guess Picard! You got blown up on the simulation!" he couldn't stop showing how amused he was with his friends bad mood "You may be a great starship captain some day but you are no James Kirk."

His friend sent him a glare "First of all, he cheated by adding a subprogram…"

"Which was something no one else thought of doing."

"You don't know that. Someone might have considered it but didn't do it cause it's _cheating_." Picard pointed out and then frowned "Why are we even talking about captain Kirk?"

"Because you were staring at nothing trying to figure out what went wrong with the Kobayashi Maru." his friends said it like it was so obvious.

"I was… but not cause of the test I knew I would fail at."

"Then why-"

"I talked to some woman on the comm. while you were in the bathroom. She said that the hearing is in five days at o-nine-hundred in Atlanta Court and that after someone named Clay will adopt Jenny or Jerry or something like that. It's with a 'J', that much I understood in my shocked state. Then she mumbled something about a doing what the law required and cut the connection."

His friend looked at him for few minutes before admitting he was confused "Wrong number?"

"If it was she would have said so right away. She could see me on the screen, she could see I wasn't the person she supposed to call."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm serious Crusher! The woman is obviously up to something!" Picard said seriously. His friend was a great guy but sometimes behaved immaturely. Hopefully Beverly will manage to get him in line with time.

"Okay, so it wasn't you she was looking for and it wasn't a wrong number by accident. She could have intentionally call a wrong number." Cadet Crusher pointed out and then gaped at his friend "Or she called the right number. Maybe she was looking for a cadet that used to live here. But I still don't get it why she talked to you. It doesn't make sense."

"For her it might." Picard said seriously "I'll talk to the quartermaster tomorrow. See if he could tell me who was in this room before."

* * *

><p>"Any luck?" a shout made Picard stop on his way across the yard towards the main office building. He turned around and saw a group of cadets in red coming down the stairs. And his roommate was among them. Crusher waved to his classmates and while they went in one direction he walked toward his friend. As he walked closer he asked again "Well, did you had any luck? You know, the talk with the quartermaster. Did you even talk to him?"<p>

"I tried. He blew me off." Picard muttered unhappily "Something about confidence. Ridiculous! I didn't ask for someone's medical records, I just wanted to know who was in the room before us."

Crusher snorted "If you ask me he was just being lazy. So… what are you going to do now?"

"I was just on my way to the main office building. I managed to get an appointment with admiral Pike. See if he can help me."

"Need company?" his friend asked.

Picard looked behind his friend and noticed something, or rather someone, Crusher obviously missed "You should turn around and then think if again if you still wasn't to come with me."

"Beverly?" he asked and turned around only to see a lovely cadet walking their way "Okay, I changed my mind. You're are taking command course, you should know how to talk to people by yourself."

Picard laughed and waved to his friend's girlfriend before continuing to his destination. Looking at his chronometer he was glad he left the room with plenty of time till the appointment. Cause right now he only had ten more minutes to get to the office on time and it was no short stroll to the tall glass building.

* * *

><p>A green-skinned Orion was sitting behind the desk when he entered the office. She smiled to him before returning her attention to the disassembled device in front of her. There was no way of knowing what it used to be before and it made Picard wonder if the woman knew what she was doing.<p>

"Admiral Pike is having a conference transmission. It should be finished in few minutes. He will receive you then." She said not looking at him but at the strange parts on the desk "You should sit, in case it lasts longer then expected."

"Thank you." He said and did as she suggested. The black leather chairs were soft and comfortable an after few minutes, when the Orion told him the admiral will see him now, he didn't feel like getting up.

"I'm Gaila, admiral Pike's secretary. I'm afraid you only have fifteen minutes before the admiral has another appointment, cadet Picard."

"That's more then I need, I hope."

Admiral Pike was typing something on a padd when Picard entered the office but instantly placed it down and focused on the newcomer. He didn't know much about why the cadet requested to see him. Gaila said he mentioned a comm. he received instead of a cadet that used to be in the room before him.

To him it didn't make much sense but he hoped he would be explained why it is so important.

And once he heard the story, once he found out about the foreign woman calling and mentioning hearing and adoption he did what the quartermaster refused. He accessed the data from the previous years to see the potential candidates for the comm. that will inform that person of still confusing message the woman gave to a wrong cadet. He was certain it was for someone who survived the Narada disaster otherwise there wouldn't be a need for the hearing. And although that limited the search there were still plenty of candidates.

Picard saw the admiral frowning before looking from the screen "What name did you say she mentioned?"

"Jenny or something similar. Maybe Jerry." He answered but he wasn't really certain.

"Joanna." The admiral offered a name.

"Yes, it's possible." He admitted "Do you know who the comm. was meant to?"

"Yes. I do." Admiral Pike said and pressed a button to hail his secretary.

"Sir?" she asked entering the office.

"Move my next appointment for later. And then set me a communication channel with the Enterprise. Doctor McCoy needs to know something regarding his daughter."


	2. Chapter 2

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>"Captain, a call from Earth just came in for you. From admiral Pike." A communication officer told Jim. The young captain turned in his chair to look at Uhura like she could give him an explanation why the admiral wished to speak to him when they talked just several hours ago when they departed from space station towards Tarsus VI. She gave him a look that showed she knew exactly what he was thinking and that she couldn't answer his unsaid question because she was as confused as he was.<p>

"I'll take it in my ready room." he said and stood up "Spock, you have the bridge."

Jim walked to the adjusted room and sat down at the table before accepting the transmission. Only one way of finding out what was going on.

"Kirk, you are in the ready room? Good. Get your CMO in as well. He needs to know something." The admiral said before Jim managed to say anything.

Jim pressed the button to the ships comm. and waited for the response from CMO's office. But no answer came. Jim frowned and tried sickbay's comm. hoping for more luck. Someone was there at all times after all.

"Did something happened?" he asked while waiting for anyone from sickbay to finally answer. Here was always a hoard of nurses there; it's impossible that they were all busy at the same time. Unless it was that time of the week.

"Yes, something happened." The admiral confirmed.

"Is it Joanna?" Jim asked but before he got an answer a female voice finally answered the comm..

"Sickbay."

"Kirk here, I need to speak to doctor McCoy."

"Doctor is in the operating room captain. There was an accident in the engineering."

Jim shook his head. Figures. He would try the comm. in the operation room but on Bones' insisting it was fixed so it worked only one way and that was from the room. No one could comm. him while he was there.

"How much longer will he be in there?"

"He just started operating captain. But it shouldn't be more then an hour. Although serious looking, ensign Marcus' wound weren't that severe."

"An hour. Thank you." Jim said and cut the connection to sickbay before turning to the screen where admiral Pike was still visible "Admiral?"

"An hour is more then I can wait Kirk. Guess you'll have to give him the message. And to answer your question; yes, it's about Joanna."

Jim frowned. He knew very well the little girl was everything to Bones "I'm listening."

"Picard." The admiral said before turning the screen so the captain could see a cadet he was vaguely acquainted with "Retell the story one more time."

"Yes sir." The cadet said before focusing on Jim's face on the screen "Last night, at approximately twenty-three-hundred hours I accepted a call from a number unregistered in my and my roommate's phone book. I accepted it. A woman, in old twenties or early thirties, said she contacted me to inform me of a hearing that is scheduled in five days at o-nine-hundred EST. I tried to explain to her that she dialed the wrong number but she ignored my words. She said someone named Clay would adopt Joanna, admiral Pike told me the correct name since I misheard it, after the wedding. She also said I, or actually the person who she was supposed to call shouldn't bother showing up, since she already has everything covered. And that she did what the law required and called the last number. I am not certain what she meant by that."

"Thank you cadet Picard." Jim said as calmly as he could "Admiral?"

Pike turned the screen towards himself "Kirk?"

"Can Starfleet do something against this woman? She is obviously using some dirty tactic to get complete custody over Joanna if I connected correctly the part with the hearing and adopting."

The admiral shook his head "I don't think so. McCoy could try and fight it with a private law suit but Starfleet has its hands tied and can't interfere in the work of a public court."

"But someone should be able to do something." Jim pointed out "Bones told me of his divorce and how he ended up with nothing. Yes, he was completely wasted at the time, but he told me. There is some foul play going on in Atlanta."

"Only one institution has jurisdiction but without physical evidence they don't have a reason to act." The admiral didn't have to explain what he meant. Jim knew right away. And it gave him a ray of hope he needed.

"I'll contact someone I know who works there. If I'm lucky she'll agree to help."

"You look like you are volunteering to be in front of a firing squad." The admiral pointed out without asking whom he was referring to. If Kirk was that uncomfortable then it was someone from his rather colorful past.

"Yeah, well. I may have said some bad things to her the last time I saw her. So if she blows me off… I had it coming. I used to be a read ass." Jim admitted.

Admiral Pike nodded, he read in Jim's record just how he used to be "Good luck."

"Thank you sir. Kirk out."

Once the screen went black Jim ran a hand through his hair and stood up. He should comm. sickbay again, or go there to talk to Bones but he didn't want to go there empty handed. So he went back to the bridge.

As he stepped out of his ready room Spock stood up from the captain's chair but Jim waived to him that he should sit back down before he walked to lieutenant Uhura.

The beautiful woman looked at the captain curiously when Jim leaned on the console. She was curious what the admiral wanted but knew better then to ask.

"I need you to set up a transmission for me. This is the comm. number." He said giving Uhura a piece of paper with a number written on it. She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. She wasn't certain what to make of it "Admiral informed me of some events back home that Starfleet can't handle so I need to contact someone from the outside."

"What?" Uhura asked not understanding.

"Just do it, please. It's important." Jim said before adding "I'll explain later."

"Alright. I'll need a minute. Luckily we are still in the range."

"Thank you. Connect it to my ready room." Jim said before leaving the bridge again. Once he was gone several people turned towards Uhura but she just shrugged. Until the captain explained exactly what was going on all they could do is guess.

Jim was waiting patiently till the comm. chimer informing him Uhura managed yet another miracle and connected him in record time. All he can hope for now is the comm. isn't rejected when the person on the other side realize who is calling.

"Hey Jim." The voice of the lovely woman that appeared on the screen showed no sign of anger or resentment Jim had expected.

"Hey. Um… I wish I had courage to contact you sooner and for a different reason but I didn't. And I'm sorry. For that… and for the things I said and did the last time we met. I behaved like an ass."

"You did." she didn't bother saying otherwise.

"Look, I need help. My friend is actually the one that needs help. From what I gathered his ex-wife wants full custody of their daughter and is willing to get it by any means necessary. The only way she can do it is if the judge is in on it. And Starfleet can't do anything about it." Jim said as calmly as he could. The mere thought of Bones losing Joanna because his ex is playing dirty is making him furious "He's a good guy. Not an idiot like me who doesn't know how to keep people who want what is best for him in his life. After all I pushed you away. But I'm working on that part. I even made contact with Winona after the Narada disaster."

"You still aren't referring her as your mother?" the woman asked in surprise "Seriously Jim! If I could forgive you after everything I'm certain you could forgive her."

"You have forgiven me?" he asked not sure if he understood correctly.

A laugh escaped her "I'm still talking to you, aren't I?"

"So are you willing to help?"

"I need details and then I'll talk to my supervisor." That wasn't what Jim wanted to hear but he understood it was the best answer he could have got. It wasn't a 'no'. It was seeing if there is enough probable cause to react.

"Okay. Here is what we know so far…" and he started to talk about the call to the cadet and what Bones ex said. When he was done she was looking at him like he had grown a second head.

"Doing what the law requires? Bull. The law requires that she inform the right person of any court appointments, not just to call any number she has of him. That might have been so before but the law was changed cause too many were misusing it."

"So… are you going to do something? Oh, you have to talk to your boss first." Jim scratched the back of his neck "How long should that take cause I should-"

"One second." She interrupted him and vanished off the screen.

"Okay." Jim muttered and then moved closer to the comm. screen so he could maybe hear what they were saying. So he didn't noticed when she returned to her seat till he heard her voice.

"I'm really not interested in watching the close-up of your ear Jimmy."

"Sorry." He mumbled "So, what's the verdict? Is Bones getting help?"

"Bones?"

"All he got left after the divorce. So…?"

"My supervisor gave me clear instructions. He told me to take the itch down." she said smiling.

"Itch?" the strange use of that word surprised Jim.

"We are supposed to behave respectfully. That includes our language. But you can place either 'b' or 'w' in front of the 'itch' part. Which ever you feel suits her better."

Jim had to laugh "I'm not sure I can pick."

"No, it's impossible under this circumstances." She agreed.

"So, what happens now?" Jim asked seriously. He needed good news to tell his friend.

"I'll send you a document your friend needs to sign. I need him to give me the legal rights to represent him. After that I'll get the others in the team who aren't currently working on cases to help me collect evidence I need. You said the call was yesterday so now the hearing is in four days. That should give us plenty of time."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. I didn't do anything yet."

"But you will. I know you." Jim said fondly "You always knew how to fix things."

"Thanks for the trust. I'll get the right document and send it to your padd. Considering the distance it might take few minutes."

"How do you about the distance?"

"Do you honestly think I'm not following the news about you Jim? Because I have. Ever since I found out about what you did during the Narada disaster."

Jim smiled slightly "Wow, you ready did forgive me. And before I forget, could you please contact admiral Pike and let him know that you will deal with the case. We are almost out of range."

"Sure thing Jimmy." She smiled and disconnected the communication.

* * *

><p>An hour has passed since the call from admiral Pike and ten minutes since the conversation with the only person Jim was afraid to talk to. Just that, right now, he couldn't understand why. It's not like she was the one to hold the grudge. No, that was his vice.<p>

And just like she promised his personal padd beeped to let him know he has a new message. Jim looked at it in awe. She really wasn't wasting any time. He remembered that about her. He liked that about her. She was always prepared for anything and everything. Like some freaking law enforcing girl scout.

Before coming Bones he decided to check his whereabouts. He knew very well that if his CMO was still operating when he comm's he'll get yet another lesion that would start with 'Damnit, Jim'. They always do.

"Computer, where is doctor McCoy?" he asked. After almost two years it's still strange to talk to air and get an answer.

"Doctor McCoy is in the mess hall." The calm female voice answered.

Jim took a deep breath, grabbed the padd that contained the newly arrived message and left to find his friend. He considered getting Bones to join him in the ready room but perhaps talking to him with other people around will help a bit. Calm him a bit. Jim had no doubt that, although against any form of violence, Bones was more then capable killing the messenger.

Several crew members that were in the hallways respectfully greeted their captain as he was walking by and Jim automatically nodded to them all the while hoping none of them would stop him cause they have a question. And at the same time he was hoping someone would cause he really felt like postponing the inevitable.

But before he had any time to change his mind the doors of the mess opened and Jim stepped inside without really thinking what he was doing. He noticed his CMO sitting in the corner with Scotty. Jim knew they were probably discussing the last batch of injured ensigns from engineering. Bones once mentioned it was like they were pulling straws who gets injured cause once a week he gets four to six injured delivered from there and they were unusually punctual. Jim knew it was due to calibrating machinery that sometimes refused to cooperate but he let Bones think what ever he wants.

He once more took a deep breath and approached the table the two men occupied.

"Captain." Scotty greeted him "No hamburger tonight?"

"Later." Jim answered and earned himself a glare from the doctor. A lecture should be following in few seconds but Jim decided to get straight to the point "I was looking for you." He said focusing on Bones.

"I'll leave you two alone." Scotty was about to get up when Jim stopped him.

"No, you should stay. I could use some help."

"I don't know how I can help since I don't know what the whole thing is about. But okay."

The whole time Bones was looking at Jim strangely "Are you gonna tell me already why you were looking for me?"

Jim sat down and placed the padd on the table before he started to explain "I got a call from admiral Pike an hour ago. I commed you to get to my ready room cause he actually called to talk to you but one of the nurses said you were operating. To get to the point."

"I would appreciate that." Bones interrupted him in his usual grumpy manner.

"A call came to our old room in the academy and a cadet Picard accepted it. A woman he never saw before in his life told him a hearing was in five days at o-nine-hundred in Atlanta Courthouse. And that Clay will adopt Joanna after the wedding. She actually told him some other stuff too about doing what law required but this is the important part." Jim stopped talking and looked at his friend. Bones was looking at him in shock.

But before he managed to say anything Scotty interrupted him "Picard? He's in command course. Smart kid; needs to stop running his hand through his hair when he's frustrated or he'll get bald before he's thirty. Now what is this other stuff about?"

"Jocelyn." The doctor on his right answered and the Scotsman turned to him "I knew it was a matter of time but I always thought she would allow me a fair fight."

"Like she did the first time?" Jim asked, his voice overflowing with sarcasm.

Bones leaned in the chair and covered his face with his hands. They could hear him mutter "Now what?"

It was the first time Jim saw his friend like that. Like there was no way out.

"We could throw her out of the airlock? Accidents are common on starships." Scotty suggested even though he still hasn't connected all the dots.

Bones looked at him like he was intrigued by the idea and Jim just had to laugh. That is why he wanted someone else to be present. But he saw a few flaws in the plan.

"Unfortunately we can't because for one: she isn't on-board the Enterprise. Two: even if she was, do you have any idea how much paperwork I would have if something like that happens to a civilian on-board of a Starfleet starship? And three: it would be better if you tested transwarp theory on her. Who knows, maybe she'd find admiral Archer's beagle."

"This is serious Jim!" Bones exclaimed before Scotty managed to comment on the captain's idea.

And Jim, like a child, decided to defend himself by pointing out "He started it."

"Jim!"

"Bones, I'm your friend. And I owe you for all the times you got my ass out of trouble. I got your back." he tried to calm his friend.

"Are you telling me you found me a transportation back to Earth?"

"Ah… no. There are no starships in the area that will be going anywhere near Earth in the next days."

"And how do you plan on helping me then?"

Jim pushed the padd towards him. Bones took it and looked at his friend "There is a new message. It's a legal document you need to sign saying you are giving your new legal representative rights to speak in your behave."

"I have a new legal representative?"

Jim nodded "I talked to someone. She agreed with me there was some foul play going on in Atlanta and they will look more closely into it and fix things."

"They?" Bones asked.

Jim took a deep breath "They. You see I though Sarfleet could take care of it but they can't since the matter is in public court and before you got enlisted. They don't have the jurisdiction. But the other they do."

"Who are 'they'?" Bones asked again impatiently.

"One of the nine main prosecutors, and the group of attorneys in his team… of the Supreme Federation Court."

* * *

><p><strong>4. Big thanks to all those who reviewed the first chapter. And especially big one to SparklyLalala<strong> **for the idea with Jocelyn and the airlock accident. Bet you didn't expected to see it in the story?**


	3. Chapter 3

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

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><p>Christopher Pike was frowning as he tried to remember a way he could help. Since Starfleet had absolutely no jurisdiction over public courts there weren't many things he could do. But he was persistent, he wouldn't be where he was if he wasn't, he knew there had to be something he could do.<p>

A few hours ago, after he got back from a meting, his green-skinned secretary informed him of a recorded message that was waiting for him in his office. He thought it might be from Kirk, informing him of what he managed to accomplish. He was partially right.

It wasn't Jim's face on the screen but that of a young woman with dirty-blond hair and blue eyes. She wasn't someone Pike was familiar with but she introduced herself and he realized that although he didn't know her he knew of her.

_"… and the prosecutor Janeway is certain that there is a good case against former mrs. McCoy. The team has only done the preliminary research and had come up with so many interesting details that we are uncertain how it was possible to hide all that things. We should collect all the info by tomorrow morning at which time I will be leaving for Atlanta."_

Her words made the admiral think again about the whole thing and he wondered exactly what they found out. And then the paranoia kicked in. Was it safe for her to be all alone in Atlanta? He wasn't certain how far McCoy's ex and her family were willing to go to have their way but he was certain he didn't want to find out by risking the safety of the only person that could help.

In that moment the admiral knew exactly what he could and should do.

He pressed the intercom button "Gaila, could you please come in."

"Admiral?" the female voice asked few moments later when she stepped inside the office.

"I need you to set me a communication with Starfleet office in Paris. I believe commander Torres is still in charge over there."

"Yes admiral." Gaila nodded and left the office again.

Admiral sighed, with the time difference between San Francisco and Paris there was a chance his idea may have come too late. They were nine hours behind so it was possible she had already left the office with the evidence and was on her way to the shuttle terminal. But if he had even a little luck things will work out as planned.

"Commander Torres on the comm., admiral." Gaila's voice came from the intercom.

"Thank you." Pike said before accepting the transmission. Commander Torres was an old friend of his; he was the first person Pike ever recruited and was some sort of a mentor to the younger man. Just like he later became one for Kirk.

"Christopher Pike." The man on the screen said smiling "It's been so long since we talked."

Pike laughed "You sound like it's been a decade. And I'm pretty certain you contacted me little after the Enterprise returned to Earth and annoyed my doctor to let you talk to me."

"Ah, yes. The grumpy one that looked like he barely slept in a week." The commander said.

"I'm pretty sure he did barely slept in a week seeing he was the only doctor on the Enterprise at the time." admiral Pike commented "He is actually behind the reason I'm calling."

"Oh?" that surprised the younger man.

"An lawyer of the S.F.C. is flying to Atlanta Georgia today to represent the doctor in court. I would like to make sure she gets there safely. I'm probably being slightly paranoid, they don't even know she's coming to oppose them and even if they did they couldn't do anything to her while she was in Paris but-"

"You want couple of my guys to make sure she gets to Atlanta safely."

"Yes, that's basically it. Think you could spare two of your men for a short trip to Atlanta? I'll have two of the officers that are stationed in San Francisco to take over from there and shadow her while she was there."

"It sounds serious if you want her to have that kind of protection."

The admiral frowned "Unfortunately it is. The ex-wife seems to be playing dirty. And I have no doubt her family is behind her."

"Alright." Commander Torres said nodding "I'll send two of my men to the main court offices, if she hasn't left yet then that is the place she should be. What is her name?"

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><p>The large complex of the Supreme Federation Court was the biggest building in Paris, even the president's residence and the copy of the old White House look like cottages in comparison with dozen buildings connected into one large one that served as the highest tribunal of the entire United Federation of the Planets. It was established thirty years after the forming of the Federation as it is now when the question of jurisdiction complicated the relations between two of the member planets. It now served for many other purposes and being the Supreme Court it also had certain rights when it comes to all those who were working in courts all over the globe.<p>

The complex housed over a dozen courthouses, offices of the judges and main prosecutors as well as lawyers that were separated into sections and work with a designated prosecutor. And because of the enormous size of the complex the two Starfleet officers almost lost all hope before managing to find the right place in the endless maze of corridors.

They could hear voices coming from behind the glass door and hoped they were on the right place this time. The name on the door said the section of offices belonged to Michael Janeway, and that was one of the names commander had told them. So it seemed they were on the right place.

The voices didn't stopped as one of them knocked and that made them wonder if they even heard someone was in front of the door. The question was answered when the serious looking man opened the door and walked away without telling them to come in, it was expected.

The opened space was reminding the two officers of a library, the high shelves were filled with old law books and in the middle were two dozen desks and every single one of them was occupied with at least one person. And they all seemed to work in tandem.

Words like 'ethical responsibility', 'digital trail', 'credit transfer', and 'personal lawsuits' were flying around and to the newcomers they didn't mean much, except that someone is potentially in a lot of trouble. But to a girl that stood in front of a bookcase and read through the files on a PADD it meant so much more. It meant she had a solid case.

"Admiral Pike informed me you would be arriving." She said turning towards them and noticed their surprised expressions "You don't know he was the one who got you to chaperon me?"

"We received our orders from commander Torres. We didn't know from whom he got his orders." One of them explained.

She shrugged; the chain of command at Starfleet isn't a part of her problems. Turning to the serious man that let the officers in she asked "Do you have any advice for me? And how much longer do you think this will last? The shuttle leaves in an hour."

He laughed "Sometimes I feel like you are the boss here, not me." he turned towards the large group of young men and woman "All those finished with the research please send in your results. As for the advice… I don't think you need one. You had your own cases before and you won every single one of them. This one isn't any different."

"But it is." She corrected him "This one is… a bit more personal."

"Conflict of interest?"

She snorted "No. I have no personal interest in this case. I just want to help Jim's friend McCoy."

The main prosecutor Janeway looked at the young lawyer in a new way "Oh, I never made the connection. I thought it was just a coincidence."

"It's not." She said right before her PADD beeped several times in a row. Looking down she noticed over twenty messages arrived pretty much at the same time "Is this all? Anyone still working?"

Several people confirmed they were still investigating and gathering evidence but they too were soon finished and submitted their findings and witness reports. They didn't have much time to collect evidence like they usually do, nor did they had which ever part submit already collected evidence for them to overview and decide if they have enough to prosecute. But considering they found out about the case just the previous day the amount of things collected was rather impressive. But she was certain it helped the fact those fools in Atlanta didn't bother hiding their tracks all that much.

It was like they didn't believe they could get caught. That they were above the law.

"Gentlemen, are you ready to go?" the officers focused on the young woman that was placing several PADDs and a large pile of paper documents in a briefcase before she turned to them waiting for the response.

"Yes, ma'am. We were told our assignment was to escort you to the shuttle terminal and make sure you get on the shuttle for Atlanta, Georgia safely. There another pair of Starfleet officers will be escorting you during your entire stay to ensure you are not harmed." One of them explained and got a surprised looks from pretty much everyone in the room.

The prosecutor looked between the officers and his lawyer "I didn't get the impression this people are that dangerous that you need protection the entire time."

"They probably aren't." she answered "But it seems admiral Pike wants to be on the safe side. If the news reports are correct doctor McCoy saved his life by extracting some kind of creature that was latching to admiral's spine. Perhaps this is the admiral's way of repaying the doctor."

"Centaurian slug." The words interrupted Janeway just as he was about to comment and he turned to the Starfleet officer that said them "My sister was a science officer on the Enterprise ma'am, sir. The news reports are correct. I'm surprised you didn't know more about it ma'am."

"Well, I didn't." She mumbled "But now that we learned something new, let's go so the shuttle doesn't leave without me. Way too many people would be upset. Me included."

"Good luck." The prosecutor Janeway said as the three of them were leaving the office premises "And don't let anyone intimidate you! You have more power then they could ever dream of!"

She laughed softly on the words and led the officers out of the complex. The two men looked at each other and frowned "Something wrong gentlemen?"

"It took us almost twenty minutes to find the right office and now we are out in less then five."

"I presume you asked a security guard in the main entrance hall for directions."

"Yes, a younger guy with a strange haircut. I thought there is some kind of rules in appearance when it comes to those who work in a court?"

"Suit and tie when it comes to clothes. No visible tattoos unless they are a part of the culture, no strange hair color unless it's the natural one for that particular rase. That particular hairstyle is a part of Neelix's culture. As is his sense of humor. He intentionally sent you down the longer way." She explained "My vehicle is over there and my bag is in the trunk. I will follow you to the terminal."

"Yes, ma'am." They answered in tandem and walked away from her towards their own ride. She had that certain something around her that made them do exactly what she said. Not that they were surprised by it. Not after learning who she was. And just to think that they believed it was a coincidence. But then again, her superior did as well.

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><p><strong>4. This supposed to be the end of the chapter but I decided to connect it with the next one and started working on an epilogue that wasn't planed in the original layout of the story. I hope no one minds.<strong>

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><p>She had to laugh making several people turn and look at her like she was insane. So much about being inconspicuous. One look and people could instantly recognize that those two weren't civilians, no matter what clothes they wore. With their hands clasped behind their backs and stiff postures it was obvious they had military training but also that they were lower in the food chain.<p>

She approached them and instantly, no sure how that is even possible, their postures got even stiffer. They both nodded in greeting and one of them spoke "Ma'am, we were ordered to escort you to the hotel."

"I am aware of that." She said before pointing to the large glass doors "Shall we?"

And then they did another thing that just made them attract unwanted attention. They were walking one step behind her, one on each side. It was a clear as a day sign to all those watching that they were playing bodyguards for her.

It was rather annoying.

"Did you make a reservation at the hotel ma'am? Or should we find one with free rooms."

"I got a reservation for a suite in hotel Bashir. I figured you would be more comfortable with your assignment that way." She answered

"We appreciate it ma'am."

She snorted and both men looked at her "I've been called ma'am more times in the past two days then in my entire life. I have a name, you know."

"We know ma'am."

"And I'm sure you have them as well. And since we will be spending a significant amount of time together in the next couple of days I would very much like to know what they are."

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><p>The hotel was fancy, and the suite showed that in every single detail. Everything from the carpet, to wallpaper, to soap in the bathroom just screams expensive. Or gaudy if you like that term better. But it was in a good location and was the only hotel that had a free suite. She was serious when she said she did it so they would feel more comfortable. Being Starfleet officers they were very serious when it comes to orders and she wanted to make things a bit easier for them.<p>

And to be honest, she did felt safer knowing they were close.

She went through some of the evidence the team collected while on the shuttle and what she read gave her a clear image of the Darnell family. They seemed to be without scruples. Perhaps admiral Pike's paranoia isn't such a bad thing.

And the rest of the evidence she was currently working on just kept proving that.

It was all currently spread around her on the bed and she was going through it and separating it in piles that she would later read more carefully and make a list of evidences that will prove every single case that was on her hands.

Jim probably thought this was just about the hearing about the parenting right but there was so much more going on in Atlanta.

The sound of the doors opening made her look up. Her shadows were standing on the doorway, she really need to get used to referring them as lieutenant Al Rawlings and ensign Erik Biordi, each holding a paper bag with takeout. It was diner time.

She laughed and stood up to join them in the living room.

"Can you tell us about the case? We weren't told much, just that we need to make sure you are safe while working on a case. Considering we are here means it's somehow linked to someone from Starfleet. But everything else… we can just guess." Rawlings started the conversation after around ten minutes of silence while they were enjoying the food.

"Sure. But could you two answer some of my questions first? Cause there is this little thing that is bothering me for a while now." When they looked at each other and nodded so she asked "How come you are on the ground and not on the starship? I asked my last two shadows and their answers made perfect sense; you see they were both handpicked to be security officers in the new White House. I was actually surprised they would send someone with that kind of position to play babysitters."

"Narada disaster is what grounded us and quite a lot of other people. Most of us were on the other six ships that were at the Vulcan first and got blown up and only a smaller number are from Enterprise. Only around hundred people survived using escape pods and shuttles from those six ships."

"You two were among them?"

Ensign Biordi was the one who answered "Yes. Enterprise picked us up before going to meet with the rest of the fleet. And then Kirk transwarped aboard with that crazy Scotsman and we went after Narada. Those were some crazy times. Sickbay pretty much spread on the entire deck. Doctor McCoy and the nurses had their hands full with patients."

"I suspected something like that." She muttered and they looked at her looking for explanation "You were right about this case being linked to Starfleet. But to be more precise it is linked to doctor McCoy. I'm suspecting admiral Pike chose to send you two to protect me because you were treated by the doctor and would because of that take this babysitting thing seriously." They instantly looked alerted "His ex-wife wants to take away his parental rights so her future husband can adopt the child. And I am here to stop it… And to do some other things." She added the end smiling.

"And what does the Supreme Federation Court has to do with it?"

"There is some evidence of corruption in the justice system and that is under our jurisdiction. When Jim contacted me about the hearing we did some digging and found a gold mine of incriminating evidence."

"How do you know captain Kirk?"

She looked from Rawlings to Biordi and back "Oh, you don't know. I assumed admiral Pike told you and that when you asked me how you should call me you just waned to know what name I was usually using."

"So your name isn't actually Sam?"

"No, it's my nickname. My full name is Samuelle Georgie Kirk. I'm Jim Kirk's older sister."

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><p><strong>5. Al Rawlings and Erik Biordi are actually Alice and Erika, both characters are present in the movie and can be seen during Jim's hearing sitting among those who were deciding on Jim's fate (info found on Memory Alpha)<strong>

**6. Bet you haven't expected me turning Jim's brother into a sister :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

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><p>Jim was sitting on the command chair happily munching an apple, something his second in command didn't approve of because the captain supposed to set at example but knew very well that mentioning it wouldn't make a difference. They were traveling for around seventy hours now and Jim expected to hear any minute now…<p>

"Captain, we will arrive at Tarsus IV in thirty minute." Sulu informed him.

"Thank you." Jim said before taking another big bite of the apple and turning to look at his communication officer.

Lieutenant Uhura could almost read her captain's mind by now so she nodded slightly and pressed several buttons before saying "You can now address the crew. I suggest you swallow that bite first. If you start choking you'll get another lesion from the doctor about your eating manners."

"Good point." Jim muttered, although it sounded more like 'goop poind' and he might have spit a tiny piece of the apple in the process. Uhura made a face and Jim turned away and swallowed before pressing the button on the armrest of the command chair to let the rest of the crew know "Attention, this is captain Kirk speaking. We will arrive at Tarsus IV in less then thirty minutes. All those who are in the away team please be ready to go as soon as we arrive. We will be taking the shuttles to the surface of the planet. Kirk out."

"Captain, I have read about the governor of Tarsus IV. He is considered unreasonable and stubborn. You might have a problem in a communication with him." Spock's voice was as calm and collected as always.

"So basically he's like Bones." Jim said turning to his second in command.

"Not completely. From what I have seen so far doctor McCoy doesn't have a problem with accepting help if offered. But several people who encountered governor Kodos previously describe him also as extremely proud man. He may not see the help that is sent by the Federation as only help but as some sort of attempt to make him look incapable of being in charge of the colony."

"So basically he's paranoid." Jim said before adding "Great. Just what I need. But no way out of it. Spock, you have the bridge. I'm going to see if Bones is ready."

"And annoy him till he is." Uhura muttered and Jim grinned at her as he was walking by her station before getting in the turbolift.

As it turned out his CMO was already prepared to go by the time Jim stepped in the sickbay. There were several crates of medicine waiting in one of the shuttles that will be going to the surface but the medikit that waited on the biobed closest to the door didn't surprised Jim in the least. He knew Bones long enough to know he doesn't go anywhere without it. And it was probably for the best too. Medicine they were delivering would be stored for later and Bones could treat those who need treatment with the stuff they already have or with things from the Enterprise that are stashed in the bag.

"Ah, nurse Ogawa. The new haircut suits you perfectly." He commented as a young nurse walked by "It's a pity I wont be able enjoying the beauty longer but unfortunately I will be going planetside soon."

"Jim, stop sucking up." Gruff voice said before a sharp stab in his throat shocked Bones "No matter what you say to any of my nurses I'll always be the one to get you a vaccine before any mission. And nurse Ogawa will be accompanying us."

"Oh." He didn't see that one coming. If a nurse had to go on an away mission he usually had his head nurse following him. But he trusted his doctor and believed Bones knew what he was doing.

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><p>Apart of the shuttle with the away team three more shuttles landed on the surface of the planet. They were filled to the rim with crates. The pilots actually had to wait till in the cockpit till everything was emptied so they cold exit. And every single one of them ran to the nearest toilet the moment they got out.<p>

The colony had a rather small sickbay considering the number of people living there but McCoy was used to not having enough space. They simply did what they do on Enterprise when there is an increased number of those seeking treatment; they used some of the surrounding buildings.

The nurses were doing the preliminary exams and he was treating the patients. The colony sickbay personnel were helping as much as they could. But most of them were working on getting the new medicine inventoried and stashed away.

"Nurse Ocampa, status?" he asked as he approached another patient.

"All vitals are good. The patient is merely malnourished." She answered. It was the most common answer he received since they started treating people.

And by the time he treated his tenth or eleventh patient for the same thing he noticed something missing. Kids. Every single person he treated so far was an adult. He suspected why that is so but still decided to ask.

"Do you have any kids?" he asked the man that was lying on the biobed in front of him.

"Yes. A four-year-old girl."

"And she is alright?"

The man nodded "We knew the food was running low and we knew we had to save it. But not on the expense of our children."

"You ate less so there would be more food for them." McCoy said in understanding. He just started to see this people in a whole new light. And a quick glance to nurse Ocampa who wiped a tear from eye showed she felt the same respect for them.

"Yes doctor."

"We'll make sure you are better in no time so you can go and spend some time with your daughter before she has to go to bed." He said noticing the longer shadows through the large window.

"Thanks doctor, I appreciate it. We all do."

After that he continued to work in silence, his mind wondering from task on hand to his own little girl more then once. He was worried that Jim's plan won't work. The Darnell's had a large group of friends on high positions all over Atlanta and as this things go their friends had friends so a number of people they could get to work against him was enormous. He briefly wondered if one girl cold face all that on hr own and win.

And then he remembered Jim is a second Kirk that doesn't believe in no-win situations. And a little ray of hope appeared. Perhaps his sister is another one.

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><p>There were many luxuries a captain of the starship could enjoy. Talking to a governor of Tarsus IV wasn't one of them.<p>

For the hundredth time since their conversation began he wondered if his decision to handle this personally wasn't the wrong one. Perhaps he should have send Spock instead. But then again his second in command suffered no fools gladly and after several failed attempts to explain this stubborn man that using a transporter to get things from Earth to Tarsus IV was in fact impossible Spock just might have strangled him. He was good in that.

Jim not so much. So he just sat in the chair opposite of governor Kodos and listened to the man's complains.

"…and here I was told that Enterprise is one of the fastest ships in the Starfleet being the newest one and all that. Perhaps the engineers have made some mistakes while building it or there are some incompetent ones working on the ship at the moment because it's just unacceptable that we had to wait this long for aid to arrive. And just to think that Federation promised to send it all as fast as possible. I should have known they were not taking the catastrophe seriously! They were all so focused on helping in the building of a new Vulcan all other planets have need neglected. Help would have probably arrived faster is we had asked Romulans to help." He took a deep breath and continued his monologue "I already considered how to prevent everyone from dying of hunger. My decision will be considered as one of the guidelines in case something like this repeats again. Next time we will call for help and if no starship arrives in three days we will ensure the survival of the fittest by removing the half of the population so they wouldn't get in the way."

"Removing?" Jim finally found his voice.

"Is that hard to comprehend for you boy? Perhaps Starfleet made a mistake by giving you a ship if you can't accept that sometimes people have to die to ensure the survival of others."

Jim looked blankly at the older man and tried to contain his emotions inside. Spock would be proud of his success because Kodos couldn't detect anything in his voice as he spoke "I know better then anyone that sometimes someone has to die to make sure others have a chance to live. But you are talking about committing murder."

"I am talking about ensuring that at least someone survives!"

"It's still murder." Jim said calmly "And I suppose that you would be among those who would survive."

"Why of course! Who would lead the people of not me? They need my guidance!"

Jim somehow managed to prevent himself from saying 'sure they do' so he commented the governor's words with "I suppose you know what the people need more then anyone considering you are in charge of the colony for almost a decade now."

He didn't mentioned he thought that it was time for a change so the older man just nodded before pointing out he has work to do. Jim was more then glad to leave the office and the man behind. There was something about Kodos and made Jim mistrust him.

Hopefully, after reading his report someone will do something about that man.

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><p>Christine Chapel was, in a lack of better words, bored. The sickbay was empty; all those in the last batch of injured from the engineering were all released and back on their posts by now. And she had nothing to do. Two nurses did the inventory; three of them were cleaning the sickbay and the laboratory. The instruments were all on their places and the tricoders were charging. There was absolutely nothing for her to do in the sickbay.<p>

So she decided to visit the only other place, apart of engineering, where something is always happening. She would need to be not only bored but also crazy to go to Scotty's realm, she knew very well how often there are accidents happening there and she didn't want to be one of those who got injured. She could just imagine how McCoy would react and the lesion she would receive from him.

The doors opened and Christine walked onto the bridge and came to stand next to her linguistic friend. Nyota smiled at her, she knew the head nurse well.

"Nurse Chapel, did something happened?" Spock asked turning towards the women.

"No captain." It was strange referring him by that title "Things are slow at sickbay."

"So you have decided to do what doctor McCoy does during that time?" he asked and Christine could have sworn he was amused.

"I never thought of it that way. But I suppose now that he is planetside I, as his second-in-command so to speak, should replace him on his position on the bridge."

"You know he doesn't exactly have a position on the bridge?" Nyota asked with a chuckle.

Christine looked at her and smiled "Oh, I know. But that never stopped him from coming here, did it?"

The current captain remained silent and just turned towards the main screen. It was his way of showing Christine he was welcome on the bridge. Not that he would ever say anything or make her feel unwelcome. He respected the Enterprise's head nurse too much to do that; he knew she was competent and took her job very seriously and was also a good friend to Nyota who wouldn't tolerate him or anyone else making her leave the bridge unless by her own will.

"I'm surprised you are left onboard. Just last month McCoy swore he wouldn't know what to do if you weren't his head nurse." Nyota commented smiling.

Christine snorted "He's being so melodramatic sometimes. I told him he should take the two new nurses on the away mission."

"And he actually listened? I'm impressed." It made Nyota wonder if there was something more going on between the doctor and the nurse, something her friend wasn't telling her.

"I had good arguments prepared so he simply had to agree. They just got onboard before we left for Tarsus IV and need the experience. And this mission shouldn't be so hard."

"Shouldn't." the linguist pointed out before pressing few buttons and checked if there were any transmission but no sound reached her earpiece.

"I seriously can't imagine something going wrong." Christine said "And I hope I'm not proven wrong."

"Me too." Nyota agreed before she remembered something and changed the subject "Do you by any chance know more about what's going on back on Earth? Jim didn't tell us much, just that it was connected to McCoy's daughter."

The question made several other people on the bridge focus on the blond nurse rather then on their own stations "I know the basic things as well. I tired to talk to him about it but you know how he is. Basically he came from lunch with Scotty, their usual meeting after a batch of injured that comes regularly once a week, and he was in a bad mood. And I'm not talking about his usual bad good. This was worse. Even the new nurses realized something was going on and they still haven't seen him really angry." Christine sighed "He rounded up the staff and informed us that his wife is planning to take away his parental rights and that the hearing is scheduled while Enterprise is light years away, which was most likely planed on her part. And he warned us he might be ever more testy and rude towards the entire staff but that no one should take it personally."

"So he can't do anything about it?" Nyota was surprised and starting to get angry "She probably wants to be certain she'll gets exactly what she wants by making sure he isn't there to oppose her."

"It seems that way." Christine confirmed.

"But the captain had me contact someone on Earth and I'm pretty certain that person is supposed to help. Don't know who it is though."

"Well, I hope the plan works. I don't want to even imagine what would happen if he loses the right to see that little girl."

"Did you see her?"

Christine shook her head "There is one holo of her in the CMO office but she is still a toddler on that one. I think it was taker right before he left and joined the Starfleet."

"Let's hope this friend of the captain's I contacted few days ago can work something out."

"Let's hope we find out the whole story soon because some people just might burst out of curiosity." Christine commented looking around the bridge and noticing several people looking in their direction, obviously eavesdropping for information. She and Nyota looked at each other and chuckled.

* * *

><p>McCoy was frustrated. Not so much on the whole situation with malnourished patients cause he had no trouble with treating them. No, he was frustrated because even on the calmest mission Jim managed to get injured.<p>

And what's worse, it was deliberate.

"What in the world possessed you to punch the wall?" he asked but wasn't exactly sure he wanted to know the answer.

"That man. It was either him or the wall." Jim explained. He was just as frustrated as his friend but for the whole different reason.

"You mentioned Spock warned you about him. So why haven't you took him seriously? You know the walking computer doesn't joke."

Jim frowned "I took him seriously. Especially after he mentioned he as ready to have half of the people executed so that the other half would survive. It's like he's considering himself a God and gets to decide who lives and who dies. And all that packed in the lovely story about the survival of the fittest."

The shock was obvious on the doctor's face "He actually said that?"

"Yes, and that he will do it if something like this repeats and no aid arrives in under three days."

"Christ, Jim you can't let that happen. You have to report that."

"Oh, I have every intention to." Jim answered "But I wish I had some good arguments to prove him why he's idea is monstrous. But words just failed me."

McCoy laughed "Perhaps you should work on your communications skills some more. They served you well so far but you will always come across people you just can't make to see reason."

Jim shook his head "Sam was the one that got the gift of being able to talk people into the ground. Me… I'm an expert at talking myself out of trouble."

"Sam." McCoy mused for a moment "Tell me more about her."

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><p><strong>4. The new nurses onboard of Enterprise are Alyssa Ogawa and Kes Ocampa. Kes is the first person I remember when I think about Star Trek nurses since I remember Voyager better then TOS and Chapel. Since her lastname isn't known, or she doesn't have one, I simply used the name of her species as the lastname. Nurse Ogawa served on Enterprise-E in TNG.<strong>

**5. This chapter wasn't in original plot but I figured you would like to know what is going on on Enterprise so I added it. It took me under 24 hours to make a layout for it and write it. That's probably a new record for me. **


	5. Chapter 5

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>Sam didn't think of herself as a patient person. It was a vice that runs in the family, according to Jim and his conclusions. But she knew she had to be patient right now, there was no point in making a scene. No, she will let that weak spineless man do some damage control and then she will sink him and all his arguments. She had more then plenty of her own to do just that.<p>

No idea how he knew she was in Atlanta, but she can't say she was completely surprised when the secretary said dr. Darnell was inside with the director. That family obviously had some serious connections. Glancing at the secretary and noticing the woman's displeasure with her presence she had a pretty good idea how he found out.

Looking around the waiting room she wondered how much it cost to make everything look so perfect. And briefly she wondered if the rest of the hospital looked like this or if this museum-like appearance was limited only for the director's office, waiting room, and conference room.

It was the later, most likely. You can attract more donators with honey then vinegar.

Looking out through the large glass door she had a good look on the main entrance and the parking lot but she couldn't see her transportation from the place she was sitting. Perhaps it was a good thing; this was she wasn't tempted to call the two officers in and scare her way into the office.

Looking at the chronometer on the wall she noticed twenty minutes already passed since she had got in.

She was so letting them follow her to the next meeting instead of argue them and make them wait by the transport.

Truth to be told she only told them to wait because she didn't want to attract attention, well more attention then she was already getting. She wasn't scared of getting hurt, not while in the hospital, even though she by now had a good guess the Darnell's would do pretty much anything to have things their way. But causing a scene in the hospital most likely wasn't one of them. After all the staff talks.

Her PADD chimed and she took it out of her briefcase to check what was send to her. It was a short testimony her boss promised to get for her personally. It was that little thing she needed to complete her plan.

And it was such a nice plan too. Jim will be proud when he finds out.

He will have to buy her a drink once he's back planetside for doing this for him. Actually a bottle. A very expensive bottle.

Sam shook her head. She can't think like this. Jim was her brother. She should be glad that he contacted her at all after what happened. Yes, he was at fault for it… mostly, but his anger was justified… mostly.

The truth was it was Winona's fault. She was the one that told Jim, to his face and all, that she wished he would be more like his sister. It hurt him that she would compare them like she did, Sam knew it did even though he never admitted it. He didn't have to. She was his sister, and even though they haven't spend as much time together as she wished they did that title meant something.

She was his sister. She knew him.

That was what their argument was about before the long communication silence. He brought the 'favorite kid' argument into their disagreement and then added some stuff as proof that he was right. And Sam didn't know what to answer him, despite her education and knowledge she just didn't know what to tell him to convince him Winona didn't like her more then him.

Perhaps it was because she hasn't convinced herself yet.

She was five when Kelvin was destroyed and their dad died. But she was nowhere near that ship. She was considered a gifted child and send to a school on some distant planet little after her fifth Birthday. But Jim didn't get that kind of treatment even though he was just as smart. Instead Winona left him with their inbred uncle that mistreated Jim and made him feel inferior.

God, she wished she could have seen his face when the reports came of what Jim did when Narada stroked again. Bet he didn't feel so superior anymore.

"Ma'am." The secretary interrupted Sam's thoughts "The director will see you now."

"Thank you." The blond woman stood up and fixed the hem of her dress. It was dark blue and simple, a design similar to the one the science officers onboard of starships wore, just longer and without the Starfleet insignia imprinted into the material. She put it on intentionally to remind the director she isn't representing just some unhappy doctor. Her client was a decorated officer and a CMO onboard of the Federation flagship, damnit.

* * *

><p>Two men inside the office stood up as Sam walked inside. One of them was the hospital's director Michael Eddington and the other was Lindelof Darnell, the chief of staff and what is more important the person behind dr. McCoy's getting fired and not being able to get a new job. Well, he was the one who called in some favors. But Sam had a pretty good suspicious it wasn't dr. Darnell that pulled all the strings.<p>

"I was informed you wished to speak with me miss…" the director said and got stuck on the name so Sam decided to help him. The fact his secretary didn't tell him who his guess was confirmed her previous theory.

"Samuelle Kirk, I represent dr. McCoy."

"Represent in what exactly?" the director was confused. And here Sam thought his right hand had given him a warning on her plans. But perhaps he didn't want to appear too interested in the case.

Sam smiled sweetly before answering "In his lawsuit against the hospital."

The white color soon replaced the healthy one on the director's face and sweat drops appeared on his forehead. He tried to regain some of the previous calmness but the young woman opposite of him was too good at reading people.

"I'm not certain I understand what you mean. Dr. McCoy had resigned from his position over five years ago and no one heard from him since."

"Dr. McCoy never resigned from his position. He was fired."

"I have a document right here."

"So do I." Sam answered instantly before added "But I would very much like to see that document you have."

The director didn't move from his chair though, or made any other move that would serve as getting the alleged resignation. He just continued to look at Sam before he sighed.

"Exactly what is he demanding in his lawsuit?"

"He isn't demanding anything." She said calmly "I am."

Dr. Darnell snorted, something completely inappropriate for a man his age and status, before he asked mockingly "And what exactly gives you the right to demand things in that expert for malpractice?"

"My position in the Supreme Federation Court and a document with dr. McCoy's signature clearly stating I can file any lawsuit I seem fit against whom ever I have enough evidence against. And I have more then plenty against this hospital… and you personally. So expect to be served in the next few days."

The director looked from Sam to his chief of staff and back before asking "What are you basing your lawsuit on?"

"Don't you want to call the hospital's lawyers first?"

He shook his head "I'll let them deal with it when it gets… if it gets to court. For now I'll see if I can fix things personally."

"Michael, you can't possibly let her make demands!" dr. Darnell protested but was ignored.

"Your employer just referred my client as an expert for malpractice and yet none of the 27 lawsuits filed against the hospital during the period my client worked here were about him. Also-"

"Because he rarely did surgery. No one was comfortable with letting that greenhorn handle a scalpel." Darnell decided to interfere. But Sam was kind enough to point out McCoy performed over hundred surgeries during the two years he worked as a surgeon, the ones he assisted in as an intern would raise that number to around five hundred.

"Also, if he did something that deserved a discipline measure then he would have been brought in front of a board and they would decide on his future in the hospital. But instead he got a call from his direct supervisor…" Sam glanced at the doctor on the left "… and was informed he doesn't have to get to work on the next day. And that, accidentally or not, happened two days after his divorce papers were signed. And since I know you weren't on this position then I feel I should mention he was married to Jocelyn Darnell, dr. Darnell's only daughter."

"You have no proof of your claims!" the mentioned doctor stood up to protest. Apparently he didn't liked looking like a bad guy. Too bad, cause that was exactly what he was.

"I have a copy of the divorce papers, several answers dr. McCoy received when he tried to get a job at a different hospital or private practice and more then one person states you have characterized him as a bad doctor and that they shouldn't hire him. Also, I have testimonies of over a dozen former patients that are grateful for everything he did for them. And some other things you will face at the court hearing."

"You have a slight problem with your claim." The director finally decided to take the file he mentioned previously and handed the Padd it was on to Sam "Dr. McCoy himself had written his resignation stating he got a better paid job."

The fact the director knew what was in the five-year-old file even though it happened before his time was suspicious to Sam. Perhaps he was given a warning after all but decided to act ignorant. Doesn't matter. She didn't say a single word she didn't plan to say.

"Do you mind if I make a copy of this for my case?" she asked politely not revealing anything at this point about her actual interest in the document.

"Not at all." the director said and personally sent it to her PADD "As you can see it was all legal."

"I'm certain. But I wish for the experts to examine it and see if the key parts like the signature were added originally and by dr. McCoy or copied from, let's say, a patients discharge papers." she then typed on the PADD a bit more before looking up and smiling "All done. I've sent the file to experts at S.F.C. and filed both lawsuits. Thank you for your time."

As she started to get up the director stopped her "Perhaps you could stay a bit longer. I'll call the hospital's lawyers to come and we can work something out."

Sam took a good minute to just watch the man with interest before she sat back down "I suppose I can find a few more minutes."

The director instantly commed his secretary and told her to get the lawyers and tried not to look too worried while doing it. And Darnell was writing something on his personal PADD. When he was done he looked at Sam and smiled like he had just defeated her at something.

The fool obviously didn't know Kirk's don't believe in no-win scenarios.

What ever he has planed, she had something better.

* * *

><p>"That took longer then expected." One of her babysitters commented as they saw her leaving the hospital and they right away snapped to alert at the sight of an older man rushing after her and grabbing her hand.<p>

"We're on." The other one muttered before they walked to join the young lawyer.

"You think you can just come here and make demands. Well, you can't! You know why? Because I rule in this city!"

Sam looked at him like he was something unidentified on the bottom of her shoe "If you said 'your wife ruled' I actually might have believed you. Because you have no real saying in anything. You do whatever she wants you to do. And now you will have to face the consequences of not having a developed backbone."

"Why you-"

"Is there a problem miss Kirk?" the doctor took a step back at the sight of the two officers dressed in red stepping on Sam's side.

"No problem at all." she answered smiling before turning towards them "Shall we?" when they turned to leave she once more looked at the older man "I presume we will see each other at the courtroom tomorrow."

"No, we will not." He answered and she raised an eyebrow.

"You will not be there for your daughter at the hearing?"

"There will not be a hearing. Nor will there be a hearing… tomorrow."

Sam observed the smug looking man before snorting "I wonder how much it cost you to reschedule the hearing."

And then she left him in front of the hospital entrance… with his mouth wide open. The man was clearly an amateur. His wife on the other hand…

"How did it go?" lieutenant Rawlings asked as they were driving towards the hotel.

Sam rolled her eyes "The director is in on it. He probably got on the position thanks to Darnell. But the lawyers haven't, they are more concerned about the hospital then their positions so I have no doubt we well come to a settlement."

"And dr. Darnell?"

"Oh, I have special plans for him." The Starfleet officers actually turned and glanced in her direction. Probably because of the laughter in her voice. They were interested "But back to the director. He managed to deceive me for a while, acting like he didn't know why I wanted a meeting with him but gave himself away when commenting on the way dr. McCoy left the hospital. He said the doctor resigned but since that way before his time there was no way he could have known of the resignation."

"Wait, dr. McCoy resigned?" ensign Biordi asked.

"I thought he was kinked out." Rawlings comented.

"Ah, that is where the Darnell's and their scheming come to the picture. I can prove the resignation is forged, it can even be traced back to the PADD it was send from; the doctor was in fact fired but not on any legal grounds, he was fired because they got everything from him they could and didn't need him anymore. On top of that I can prove Darnell used his connections to make sure he doesn't get a position as a doctor anywhere in Atlanta and probably some other places too cause friends have friends who have friends and he would do anything and owe a favor to anyone if that meant ending McCoy's career for good. And since he didn't work long enough he couldn't even get a job in one of the smaller public clinics. Hell, he wouldn't even be hired in Riverside and they only have one doctor for the past fifty years."

"So, you filed a lawsuit against the guy?"

"Of course. By the time-"

Sam was cut off when her communicator beeped. The person calling her wasn't someone she was familiar with but she knew better then to refuse a call when working on a case.

"Ma'am, the McCoy hearing that was originally scheduled for tomorrow has been moved for today afternoon. You need to be in the courtroom in 20 minutes." The female on the other side was whispering.

"I wasn't supposed to know about this." Sam commented. She didn't have to ask.

"No, ma'am. I hope you will be here on time but don't expect the cooperation and justice from the judge." Her words surprised the young lawyer.

"Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

"I'm a friend, and I owe Leonard McCoy quite a lot. He is a good and competent surgeon. If he wasn't my son would have died five years ago." She answered and cut the connection.

Sam looked at her babysitters "We have to be in the courtroom in 20 minutes. They moved the hearing." As they were turning in the opposite direction she mused "I really wonder how much he paid the judge."

"And I wonder how much money McCoy had if it was worth it for this folks to pay people left and right so they could keep it." Rawlings added making Sam laugh.

"You were going to say something about your plan for dr. Darnell." Biordi reminded her.

A chuckle escaped her lips "I read that Starfleet Medical is looking for any qualified personnel since many of them died during the Narada incident. But by the time I'm done with Lindelof Darnell not even they will want to hire him."


	6. Chapter 6

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>"I read that Starfleet Medical is looking for any qualified personnel since many of them died during the Narada incident. But by the time I'm done with Lindelof Darnell not even they will want to hire him."<p>

Sam took out her personal PADD from her purse and went through the documents she had on it. There weren't many of them, most of the things she needed for a case was safely stashed in a small safe behind a holo back in her hotel room.

Not that she was worried the Darnell's might hire someone to break in and steal the things she had against them but it's better safe then sorry. They probably didn't believe she could find evidence against them. They probably believed they could hide behind their names and money forever.

Sam sighed. She might have denied it before to her supervisor but this case was personal. This was about someone who saved her brother's life and helped him save the entire planet.

She mused on that thought. Maybe she should use that as leverage. Dr. McCoy did, albeit indirectly, helped in saving Earth.

But in the end she shook her head. This is Atlanta; here money meant more then being named a hero. At least when the judge is corrupted.

Looking through the documents she opened the one named 'Korby'. It was basically a list of the cases said judge decided upon and a good portion of the cases had a mark by it that led to a different document, the one that showed the judge's finances and how they changed in a very suspicious way right before the trial and after he made his decision.

She even got her hands on a couple of transcripts from his trials and it was, in a lack of better words, a farce.

So it wasn't important that she didn't have all of the files she actually needed for the parental rights hearing. The decision is already made.

But there is a requisition form to fix all that too.

"Were here." lieutenant Rawlings said surprising the young lawyer. She was so lost in her thoughts and future plans she didn't notice they stopped on the courtroom parkinglot.

"Thank you." She said and opened the door to get outside when her escort opened their doors too "You should stay here."

"You would probably do better if we are with you. You represent the doctor but we represent the Starfleet and they are behind him one hundred precent."

"It doesn't matter." She said sighing "The judge's decision wouldn't change even if admiral Pike sat behind me in the courtroom. He was the one who decided against the doctor in the first hearing and gave his ex-wife everything. And he was rewarded for it too."

"Bribe?" ensign Biordi asked.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand."

The two men looked at each other before Biordi muttered "I should have gone to law school."

"Can you prove it?" Rawlings asked. He looked angry and she had a pretty good idea why. He was on the Enterprise, he met the doctor and was treated by him. It was personal for him too.

"Oh, I can prove it. That time and over dozen others."

"Darn, I really should have gone to law school." Biordi repeated.

"Man, taking bribery is punishable." His friend reminded him but the younger man snorted in response.

"How much will he get if… when he gets convicted? Five years of community service."

Before Rawlings managed to say anything Sam decided to correct the ensign "If the law remained the same then he probably wouldn't get more then five years cause several things would have been taken in consideration, including his position in the society. But just last week a new law passed voting and changed all that. And the best part is there is a nice new section regarding corruption and misusing of a position and it gives the both senior and junior prosecutors of the Supreme Federation Court some new legal powers."

"Something good?"

"Something very good. Something I have already requested." Sam said smiling before she turned to leave in the courthouse "Stay here. This shouldn't take long."

* * *

><p>Unknown to the three of them their arrival didn't passed as unnoticeable as they might have thought. A woman was just entering the courthouse when they stopped on the parking lot and exited their transport. And instantly she knew who they were. Her husband warned her of their presence and plans here in Atlanta.<p>

But she didn't feel threatened and that's exactly what she told that old pushover, he was already seeing the worst-case scenario while she only saw they could make even more profit from McCoy. After all he was now some sort of chief up in that flying thing and since the girl acted on his behalf they could file a private lawsuit against him for trying to ruin their reputation or something like that. She was certain Roger knew exactly the right thing.

She couldn't hear what the girl was telling the two men but it amused her that they seemed to listen carefully to her every word. She was obviously someone who was used to people paying attention to her and knew how to behave accordingly. That's how she managed to sell her husband and that kid that runs the hospital that she is from the Supreme Federation Court.

But Barbara Darnell wasn't a fool. She knew there was no way that little girl could be a lawyer. So it would be better for her to go back home and play with her dolls.

As the girl turned away and headed towards the courthouse Mrs. Darnell walked inside so the girl wouldn't notice her watching her.

She was certain Jocelyn will be interested in meeting the teen her ex-husband send to represent him. If it was meant to be a joke then it was on his account.

* * *

><p>Sam walked down the long hallway towards the courtroom 29. She hoped the security guard that told her a direction wasn't a joker like Neelix and sent her in a wrong direction. But the numbers on the large wooden doors told her she was heading in the right direction.<p>

The courtroom of Atlanta was a fairly large building, after all Atlanta was a decent size city. But it was nothing compared to the complex in Paris. And it wasn't just the size but the age as well. The marble tiles on the floor were the best indicator that, although the building was well taken cared of, it was a very old building. She suspected that some of the parts dated from the time the courthouse was first build in the 20th century and were incorporated when the building was modernized.

Being so lost in thoughts, for the fifth or sixth time that day, Sam almost missed the correct courtroom but the voices that were coming from the room she approached made her snap back to presence. The two women were discussing the case and they obviously didn't care who heard them.

For the first time Sam wished she had the time to go to the hotel and change. As nice this dress she had on was she wanted for Jocelyn to realize what she is up against. That's why she planed to wear a long red dress with a matching sweater for no other reason but the color and appearance of it that reminded on the uniforms the Starfleet cadets wore.

She walked down the aisle towards the two desks in front. It was really an old fashion courthouse; they even had the small gate that separated the lawyers and those the cases were about from the audience. Something that wasn't practiced almost anywhere anymore.

Jocelyn turned slightly and glanced at the girl her mother mentioned and wasn't happy with what she saw. Not because she was worried or anything but because the girl actually looked pretty. And if there was something Jocelyn didn't want it was for Leonard to find someone as pretty as that girl. She didn't want him to be happy with anyone. Ever.

But the girl didn't look over twenty so there really wasn't anything to worry about. Leonard was a gentleman; he would never show interest in someone so young. That was actually why she managed to rip away from him everything he held dear. He was just too nice to fight her.

He should have continued to do that.

Sam ignored the look and calmly walked through the small gate and sat down at the table on the right. She decided to annoy the woman on her left a bit so she swept her blond hair behind her back and crossed her legs before taking out several PADDs from her briefcase.

From the corner of her eye she saw Jocelyn whispering something in her lawyer's ear and he nodded before whispering something back. She ignored them and instead taped something on the screen to appear busy.

The truth was she already had everything prepared. She knew the hearing would be a joke and that she needed to act fast. So if the hearing ends as planed she can instantly send in her request.

And it would be a lie if she denied she was hoping it ends just like that; with her appeal refused and Jocelyn getting what she wanted. Because that would just ruin her fun.

* * *

><p>Several minutes later the officer of the court walked in "All rise!"<p>

Everyone did as told and from the door opposite of them an older man waked in and sat on the judge's place. Sam actually expected a much older man so she was slightly surprised to see Roger Korby was in his forties. But on the end of the day it didn't matter. He wasn't any better then some of the criminals he had in front of him.

"Be seated!" the officer said and once more everyone did as told.

The judge took a PADD and read the case description "Darnell against McCoy regarding the termination of the parental rights of one Joanna McCoy." He looked up at Jocelyn and smiled slightly, something that didn't escaped Sam, before he turned in her direction.

He frowned and looked at the officer who nodded "I checked it."

But the frown didn't escape the judge's face "Miss, it seems we have a problem with your accreditation. It says here you are a lawyer but I have a hard time believing that someone who isn't even old enough to drink alcohol could have already finished school and got the license. What can you say in your defense?"

Jocelyn smirked upon hearing that but it was soon wiped clear away from her face when Sam stood up to answer "Your honor, I am twenty-six years old, not seventeen. And I received my license with twenty, I am sure that information is in my record."

"The record can be forged." He pointed out.

Sam barely managed to stop herself from saying some other things are forged but instead she politely explained "My file is not forged. And my accreditation isn't forged either. I am a junior prosecutor for the Supreme Federation Court."

The lawyer on the other side of the aisle looked at Sam in shock. He didn't expect someone like her to represent the doctor, someone with her position.

"Very well. I will accept your word to be truth. Now, do you mind explaining why your client isn't present today."

First thing that passed through Sam's mind was 'like you don't know' but luckily she wasn't like Jim, she thought before opening her mouth "Doctor McCoy is onboard the USS Enterprise on a mission of taking supplies to Tarsus IV. He had no way of getting to the hearing on time."

"Really, because the way I see it he had plenty of ways to get to the court if he really wanted. But it appears he is more interested in his career then in the well-being of his child." The judge was starting to play dirty. But Sam wasn't about to give up, not without a fight.

"There was no transporter anywhere in the area that was heading back to Earth from the location Enterprise was at when the doctor received the message from the Starfleet command about the hearing. Ergo, there was no way he could have been here. But he had signed a document, giving me the full rights in representing him."

"That document might be good enough for you but it isn't for me."

"Your honor, that document is accepted on all planets in the Federation." She pointed out "My client doesn't need to be here."

"This is my courtroom, not some backwater planet. I will decide on which document is accepted and which isn't, miss." Judge Korby said and in that moment Sam had the last part she needed for a good solid case "And I say, because this hearing is to decide a fate of an underage child, a parent needs to be present if he or she wishes to keep his or hers parental rights. And since I only see one parent here it isn't hard to conclude which parents deserves to have all the saying when it comes to the child. So…" he hit the hammer "Hereby, I decide to revoke Leonard McCoy's parental rights and give Jocelyn Darnell McCoy full custody over her daughter Joanna McCoy."

He stood up to leave and everyone stood up too. And although she just lost the case Sam couldn't help but smile. She lost one battle but she is so going to win the war.

Jocelyn's lawyer wanted to say something to Sam but she walked pass him and out of the courtroom. She was completely oblivious to the look she was getting from the man that stood next to the door that led to the judge's chamber. The officer of the court frowned. Doctor McCoy was a good man and deserved to have the custody over his daughter. When he told his wife about the new hearing schedule she instantly contacted the young lawyer and he was certain she wouldn't be happy that things turned out the way they had. They owed Leonard McCoy everything for saving Jahn.

* * *

><p>Sam was just about to go down the stairs when Jocelyn grabbed her hand. She chuckled and turned towards the older woman "Something you need?"<p>

"Yes, I need you to tell Leonard I will press charger against him."

"On what grounds?" Sam was honestly curious what the woman came up with, that is if she actually came up with it on her own.

"For slandering my family's name." She answered smugly.

Sam stared at her for a moment to see if she was serious before snorting and commenting "You are doing that quite well by yourself."

"I will press charges against you as well." She said after Sam who decided to simply ignore the woman and go to where her escort was waiting "For…"

"Considering your education I doubt you will ever come up with something you can get me prosecuted for." Sam answered and began to send in her requests.

"Doesn't matter. I won. I have Joanna and all Leonard has is a court order for paying child support. Maybe now that he is some sort of chief I can request for a bigger one. After all raising a child isn't cheap. Are you sending him a message saying you lost?"

Sam was on the bottom of the stairs when she turned and looked at both women who were still standing on the same place "Of course not. It's just one hearing."

"There is just one hearing!" Barbara Darnell snapped "We won!"

The PADD beeped and Sam opened the message that just arrived and smiled before muttering to herself "Not by a long shot. We Kirk's don't give up so easily."

As she approached the two officers Rawlings asked "Everything went as planed?"

"Oh yes. And the fun is just starting!"

* * *

><p><strong>4. I recycled several names in the previous and this chapter. Lindelof Darnell got the name from Damon Lindelof, one of the producers of Star Trek XI. The Hospital director was named after Michael Eddington from ST-Deep Space 9. Jahn, a character that was only mention in this chapter as a reason Bones has allies in the court, is named after one of the Onlies from TOS. And finally Barbara Darnell got the first name of a character Barbara McCoy, who according to Memory Beta she was Jocelyn and Leonard's younger daughter, Joanna's little sister (appearance only in ST comics).<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>If someone happened to pass next to room 187 or rather a suite of Hotel Bashir he or she would think the room was empty and that who ever was in it forgot to turn off the light before exiting. But that was certainly not so. None of the current occupants had the time to go and see the sights of Atlanta. All three of them were too busy working on their reports.<p>

For the two Starfleet officers it seemed like a waste of time for both of them to write individual reports to Admiral Pike but a direct order was something you don't question, you just do what you are told to do. They could only guess the reasons behind that order cause the chance is they will never find out. Unless they collect enough courage and ask. Eventually.

Sam sat on the sofa opposite of them and typed on the silicone surface of the PADD without much thinking between the sentences. She knew exactly what she needed to write and how to form her sentences. She knew how many things depended on her report.

Her PADD beeped and she stored her report before opening the message that just arrived. It was a response to one of her requisitions. A smile slowly spread on her face till she looked almost comically. But she couldn't fight it, it felt so good when something happens the way you plan it.

She reread it again, just for fun, before closing the message and returning to her report.

Her supervisor will not be very pleased with how things went but she doubted he would be surprised. He went through the gathered material about the Darnell's too. Which means he could-

"Is pulling strings to get the second hearing scheduled as soon as possible misusing the personal position?" she asked the two men across from her.

They shared a look "I would call it owning a favor." Biordi answered and his friend nodded in agreement.

Sam sighed "I can't afford making any mistakes. My case has to bee foolproof."

"I don't think anything is foolproof. No matter how carefully you plan things there is always some fool that can ruin anything. Their mental processing is something normal people can't comprehend." Rawlings mentioned casually and Sam snorted.

"I sometimes forget you met my brother… you did meet my brother, right?"

"Yeah, we were both still confined to sickbay when Kirk and commander Spock returned from Narada. Kirk… captain Kirk didn't come to the sickbay right away but doctor McCoy made him come as soon we were on a safe distance away from the black hole."

"Made him? I never met anyone that can make Jim do something he doesn't want to do."

The two officers started to chuckle, making Sam think there is some inside joke she is missing. Ensign Biordi was kind enough to explain "Doctor McCoy is known for two things. One: his default mood is grumpiness. And two: he can hypospray you before you even realized what was going on. And he isn't exactly gently in the process."

"Not exactly gentle." Rawlings snorted "He jams that thing into a persons neck like some-"

He never got to finish that sentence because Sam started to laugh and they joined her moments later. Only they were laughing because her laughter was contagious. She was laughing because she imagined Jim being hyposprayed by the doctor. The yelping and the complaining included.

It was such a funny thought she hoped she would someday have the chance to see it with her own eyes. And laugh once more.

"Back to the point…" she managed to calm herself enough to speak "The hearing."

"Right." Lieutenant Rawlings sat up straighter before bringing out his opinion "They could claim you wanted to push the hearing to the earlier date so that doctor McCoy doesn't have to testify but I doubt they would even go that way. Because you can easily point out they did the same thing."

Sam nodded "I never saw it from that point of view. Thanks."

"So, when is the next hearing?"

"I don't know yet. I'll be sending my supervisor the report and ask him if he can arrange for an earlier hearing."

"Why is it so important that the hearing is earlier?" Biordi asked "Maybe you should wait till doctor McCoy is back planetside so he can be present as well."

"I considered that option but came to a conclusion it's better if he isn't present. Not only would the whole thing turn into a media circus since he is one of the Starfleet's heroes but because he would be satisfied with only getting Joanna back."

"And you aren't?" he asked again.

Sam shook her head "That family needs to learn there are consequences for their actions. The things they did… I know there are worse crimes and worse people out there… but to cheat a man out of his own life, to put countless people in danger… that is something I just can't let them get away with."

"They put people in danger?" Rawlings asked not understanding. He thought this was only about the kid.

The young lawyer nodded before beginning to explain what she meant "From what I gather of that family Barbara Darnell makes all the decisions. And around ten years ago…"

* * *

><p>Admiral Pike was not a happy man. He just received a both reports from the two officers he send out as security detail. And he didn't like what he read. It didn't work.<p>

For a moment he considered sending a transmission to Enterprise to inform the good doctor that the plan failed but several things stopped him. One of them, and not a small one, was the fact Enterprise was out of range. His transmission would have to go through several ships in the area and he didn't wanted to bother so many communication officers just so he could deliver a bad news.

Another reason was that both officers mentioned additional plans made by miss Kirk regarding the Darnell family. So the admiral decided to inform himself some more before maybe making that transmission.

It was Lieutenant Rawlings that answered the comm. just after the first beep. He instantly become serious and greeted the admiral as appropriate.

"At ease, lieutenant."

"Admiral Pike, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I need some information. You and ensign Biordi both mentioned in your reports that although the hearing is finished this whole thing isn't over yet. Do you mind explaining that?"

"Not at all, admiral. I mentioned in my report that miss Kirk managed to collect a large amount of evidence that suggested the judge was corrupted and received bribery so that he would make the decision of taking away doctor McCoy's parental rights. Last night she had sent in her reports, around the same time we had submitter ours, and just an hour ago she received a response. The Supreme Federation Court, or rather one of the prosecutors agreed with her judgment and acted on her suggestions so during the day first legal courses will be taken against judge Roger Korby and the members of the Darnell family." he took a deep breath and added "Also, a second hearing is scheduled for tomorrow. A judge from Augusta is being transferred to Atlanta and his first case will be reevaluating the decision from judge Korby."

"Those are good news. I'm glad I won't have to give McCoy the bad news." The admiral commented.

"No sir, you won't. We've seen some of the documents. The case is pretty solid. I do not believe something could go wrong." The lieutenant said.

Admiral Pike nodded "Let's hope nothing does go wrong."

"Yes sir."

"Keep me posted."

"We will sir. I don't know if the judge will make the decision right away tomorrow but Biordi or I will comm. you to inform you how things progressed."

"You do that. Pike out." He cut the connection to Atlanta and sighed. He hoped, again, that the older Kirk sibling was just as talented at talking s the younger one. And then he reminded himself that at such young age she is already one of the junior prosecutors of the court that has jurisdiction in the entire Federation. She wouldn't get that far if she didn't know how to express herself.

And for a moment he wondered how far she would go in her career if she got this far already. Certainly she had talent and could become a senior prosecutor and lead her own team someday. Hell, he could imagine her someday becoming a judge.

Just as he could imagine Jim becoming an admiral.

It seems leadership is in blood of Kirks.

And he was proud of the sister just as he was of the brother. Even though he never met her.

He pressed the comm. and waited few moments till his secretary answered "Sir, how can I help you?"

"I need a personal file of someone who isn't a Starfleet personnel."

"Not a problem sir. Name?"

"Kirk, Samuelle Georgie."

The was a pause on the other side before Gaila finally answered "It should only take few minutes. I will send it on your PADD."

"Thank you." He said and released the button. Now he will know more.

* * *

><p>Joanna tried to remember when was the last time she felt so miserable. The only time she could remember was that day when her grandma brought her home and her momma told her her daddy is gone and won't be returning. She was completely ignorant of how things really were back then but with time she started to connect the countless arguments she overheard with her father's departure. At first she though he left because of her, that he didn't love her anymore. But that changed the first time he tried to talk to her over the comm..<p>

Her momma never found out that she was standing on next to the door in the other room and heard everything her daddy said. He wanted to talk to her, to see her. He missed her. He still loved her. She was still his little girl.

But momma told him she had some instructions and wasn't home. Momma lied. And Joanna knew it wasn't the only time.

She tried to count how many times her momma told her something she accidentally witnessed was their little secret. Usually when a man she didn't know came to the house. Or when that pretty woman brought a PADD and they talked about documents and something momma called the most profitable divorce ever. And she did what she was told and didn't tell her daddy about it. Joanna frowned, maybe she should have. Maybe now she would be with her daddy up there among the stars and not stuck with her momma and grandma in a fancy store.

She tried to complain but after grandma grabbed her hand two times and slapped her once, after they got into the hovercar, because she said she was tired and didn't want to walk anymore to buy some stupid and ugly things she gave up and just sat in the chair they told her to sit in while they picked the gaudy ornaments and invitations and some other things Joanna didn't like.

She didn't completely understood what it all meant but she knew one thing for certain. She was going to have a new daddy so momma will never let her talk to her real one. Maybe when she gets older she can look for him. If he still wants her then.

Jocelyn wasn't unaware of her daughter's feelings but she didn't care all that much. Joanna was a kid and kids adapt to new things better then older people. That is probably why Leonard kept coming hr and asking to talk to Jo. He should have figured by now she wasn't going to let that happen. For someone who finished medical school he was pretty stupid.

They finally stopped in front of a bridal salon and Jocelyn felt giddy like a little girl. She was so close to her dream wedding, only thing she was still lacking was a perfect wedding dress… and a crown. Yes, she was going to find the tiara to go with the dress. Not a stupid headdress like the one she wore for her wedding with Leonard.

The three of them walked into the salon and instantly the women that worked there started to fuss about them, making sure they are comfortable on the leather chairs and that the wine is the perfect temperature. Jocelyn smiled, the conversation with the shop owner paid off.

The man was extremely pleased when she commed him to ask for some special treatment while she was looking for the perfect wedding dress. She then told him some of the details she wanted on her dress and he promised to hire several models that would try out the dresses for her. That way she could see them better then just in the mirror.

The workers in the salon obviously got strict instructions how to treat a customer like Jocelyn Darnell who expected perfection and nothing else. Plus they knew she was willing to leave a nice amount of money in their store.

The models were in the dressing rooms and were exiting one at the time.

The first dress was a lovely champaign color and made out of satin. The form of the dress was fairly simple; it went tight to the body till it flared out on the hips and the top layer of the material was slightly lifted on one side and sewed in with decorative threads to give it some layering. The top hem was heart shaped but the tulle decorated with lovely stitching was incorporated as wide straps and ended just below the chest.

But Jocelyn found countless flaws on it.

"No, I want my dress to be white, not one of those strange champaign eggshell colors. White!"

Barbara Darnell obviously had the same taste as her daughter cause she had a thing to add herself "This whole waste part looks like a she is wrapped in bandages. And couldn't you find a model that matches my daughter's form a bit better? This girl clearly needs to lose some weight."

The saleswomen ushered the model back in the dressing room and apologized. They had no idea the women would make such a comment.

The next dress they picked and asked one of the models to wear was made out of a light silky material. It was strapless and had a medium length train. The central part and the eye catcher of the dress was a wide belt of tulle decorated with silver thread stitching.

But once more the two Darnell women had plenty of comments. Or rather complains.

"It's plain. I have pajamas that have nicer decorations. Like the one Clay brought me from London last month." She turned to her mother "Did I showed you already? I'm considering if I should keep it for my wedding night or buy a brand new one. It's amazingly soft."

"A pajama? Dear, you need a silk nightgown and a negligee. Everything else is rubbish."

"You are right mother. I don't know what I was thinking." She looked at the saleswomen and waived her hand at them "What are you waiting? Take that thing away! I want something with more tulle and lace. I want it covering the whole dress. So find me something."

Barbara nodded in agreement with her daughter. She wanted her daughter to show her lovely figure. And that dress did everything but.

Once more the saleswomen tried to find a dress that made fit in the guidelines given to them. And they found a beautiful white strapless satin dress that could pass as a regular evening gown if not for the tulle robe decorated with stitching in shapes of flowers with small crystals added in and a medium train. The robe was secured in place with a thin satin belt right under the chest. It was made so it would outline the woman's figure perfectly.

But when the model stepped outside of the dressing room Barbara snorted "Do you see what you just send out. My daughter wants a wedding dress. We will look for a nightgown somewhere else where the staff is more competent when it comes to finding what the customer wants. I'm staring to doubt in your abilities little girls. And I will make sure to inform your employer of this."

"Find me something more feminine. I have a gorgeous body and I don't want to hide it behind something so hideous. And maybe a prettier model, if you manage to find one. It's hard to concentrate on the dress when her face is distracting us."

Once more the saleswomen found themselves apologizing to the innocent girl. And slowly but surely they started to regret coming to work today. And several more attempts to find the perfect dress ended with the same result making every single one of them want to snap at the two women.

After dress number ten was refused because the sleeves were puffy, and they weren't, and because the train was too long, and it wasn't, they suggested a small brake. One of them went to get wine and some juice for the little girl that sat silently next to the two constantly complaining women and just looked out of the window. They could see on her expression that she liked several of the dresses because she would gave them small smiles but most of the time she was disinterested in the happenings.

She probably just wanted to be outside on the sun.

Once there was at least one glass of wine in each woman the saleswomen send in the next model. She had on a champaign colored dress made out of satin that was completely covered with stitching decorated tulle with a thin belt under the chest with a beautiful rose attached to it on the side, decorating it. It showed off the woman's body perfectly and the medium train looked elegant.

But not for the Darnell women.

"Are you all deaf? I said white and only while!" Jocelyn said right away "And I don't want sleeves or straps either. I want something that shows my body! How many times do I have to repeat that?"

"Yes ma'am." They all said in union and left for the changing room. When they walked in one of the models was holding a dress she found on a rack in the back. It was dismissed from their choice because, in their opinion, a bit too revealing for a bride. Yes, it would be worse but women should look elegant on their weddings. It was a beautiful dress but not for a church, not for a woman as old as Jocelyn Darnell.

They looked at each other and sighed. They will give it a try and see what happens. And if they are lucky…

The dress itself was covered with tulle like Jocelyn demanded that was, just like all the previous ones, decorated with stitchings and crystals. But the difference was the bottom layer, the satin art below the translucent material. It was in two pieces. The tight skirt that flared out at the knees and an upper top that resembled, in a lack of better words, a bating suit leaving the stomach visible. Well, mostly visible, seeing that the stitchings were made so they reminded of an old-fashioned corset.

All the women in the dressing room that turned into a large dress storage, saleswomen and models alike, kept their fingers crossed as one of the models stepped outside in the shop.

Joanna frowned seeing the dress, but her mother was delighted. And her grandmother too.

"You certainly took your time! We could have been done with all this if you have showed me this dress right on the start. Can't you see it's everything I wanted?"

"Oh, you will look absolutely breathtaking in this dress. Much better that this little girl." Barbara said glancing at the woman modeling the dress "Clay won't know what hit him!"

"I know!" Jocelyn instantly agreed with her mother, about everything, before adding "Now that I have the dress I need a tiara that would look good with it."

To say that the saleswomen weren't happy that Jocelyn found a dress both she and her mom likes would be a lie. They had to help many very demanding brides to find the perfect dress but Jocelyn was overdoing it. Now they had to put over a dozen tried out dresses back on the racks. And they were not happy because of it. At least one of them considered taking some time off in the next could of days to rest, both physically and mentally from the bridezilla that is Jocelyn Darnell.

But now she wanted a tiara as well!

They all stood in a glass showcase so they had a slightly easier job presenting her with the choices. So when she pointed to one of them and wanted to try it out herself they were relieved. None of the models will be forced to listen to snappy comments.

The several she tried out weren't extravagant enough and then Barbara pointed out to the one that barely fit into the shelf. It was very high at front and decreased in height in a clean curve towards the end. The smaller crystals were decorating the upper and lower rim and every second vertical decorative line. The other vertical lines were decorated with larges stones.

It wasn't my any means an ugly thing just on the gaudier side.

"Oh dear, you will look perfect! They will all envy you!" Barbara said before turning to Joanna and snapping at the little girl "Well, aren't you gonna give your mother a compliment?"

"I like that one better." She said pointing out on a more moderate tiara but Barbara dismissed her.

"That thing… What would people think if my Jocelyn wears something as plain as that? You clearly have no taste. Must be from your father's side."

"He married momma." Joanna pointed out innocently and didn't understand why her grandmother gave her such a mean look. And at the same moment few of the saleswomen that heard her words tried their best to remain completely calm and not laugh.

"There, we're done." Jocelyn said taking off the tiara and handing it to the saleswoman "I would like my purchases delivered on my home address."

"Of course ma'am." She answered and Jocelyn gave her the ID credits card that had enough credits on it to buy every single dress and tiara in the shop. Divorcing Leonard left her a very wealthy woman.

But it didn't work. The saleswoman slides the card several times though the reader but nothing happened. The transaction was refused every single time.

"I'm sorry ma'am but your card isn't accepted."

"How can it not be accepted? I have more then enough credits on my account!" Jocelyn protested.

"Perhaps it's a mistake in your reader." Barbara pointed out "Try again."

"I tried five times ma'am. The transaction was refused every single time."

Barbara huffed and muttered something about incapable little girls before taking out her ID credits card out of her oversized purse and handed it "I will pay then." She turned to Jocelyn "Consider it a gift from me and your father."

"Thank you mother." Jocelyn smiled sweetly.

But few moments later the same saleswoman had the same problem "Ma'am, I suggest you comm. your bank. There seems to be something wrong."

"Only thing that is wrong is that you can't even slide through a simple card!" Barbara snapped but Jocelyn already took out her personal communicator and commed the number on the rejection slip.

She explained what was going on and few moments later her eyes grew wide and her face become pale before she closed the communicator and looked at her mother.

"What?" Barbara asked impatiently.

"Frozen. All my assets are frozen. Every credit I have and some other things."

"Other things?"

"The house, the hovercar. I can't sell any of it. It's all frozen. That little bitch!"

"Momma, language." Joanna said innocently and Jocelyn looked at her and snapped.

"Shut up you brat!" she looked at her mother "The blond bitch did something!"

"Comm. Roger, he will fix it." Barbara said calmly.

Jocelyn nodded and did as called. But it was in vain.

* * *

><p>When Roger Korby answered his personal communicator all he could do was tell Jocelyn his hands were tied and that there is nothing he or they can do. The warrant for the freezing of assets came from above. As well a warrant for seizing all the PADDs in his office so they could be used as evidence in a trial against him for corruption and misusing the position.<p>

All he could do was watch helplessly as the officers placed the mentioned PADDs in evidence boxes that would be send to Paris. This wasn't going to be a little thing that would blow over. He will answer for what he had done. And he will answer to the highest ranked judges in the Federation.

And for the first time Roger Korby damned the day he met the Darnells.

* * *

><p><strong>4. I know that Federation credits are what it's used in the Federation for purchasing things but I have no idea how they transfer the credits. So I decided to invent the ID credits cards, those are basically IDs, drivers licences and credit cards combined into one.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>Jocelyn Darnell was livid. Not only did that little girl ruin all of her wedding plans and made her look like a complete fool in front of the entire horde of saleswomen in the bridal salon but she had the boldness to go against the court's decision and request a new hearing? How dare she?<p>

Roger made his decision. He decided she got the whole rights when it comes to _her_ daughter so shouldn't that wannabe lawyer be legally obligated to respect that or something? No! She decided to give it another try. Stupid girl. There is nothing she can say or do!

And Roger… well if he has any brain in that head of his he will say the credits were a thank you gift… or something.

A frown appeared on her face. Her lawyer informed her the girl wanted to question Joanna. Jocelyn right away pointed out that would never happen as long as she bereaves. She doesn't want anyone, and at least that girl, ask questions regarding their life since Leonard left with his tail between his legs.

But just in case she can't prevent it she asked her mother to talk to Joanna. It was more then clear the girl feared her grandmother and the strict way she believed was perfect to raise children.

Jocelyn smiled. This Kirk girl can't touch her.

She put on her fanciest suit and the most expensive shoes and paired them with a bag she bought only a week ago and she was ready for court. Since today would only be the preliminary thing and her overpaid lawyer would most likely have the whole repeated hearing end as fast as the first one did, with her as the winner of course, she decided to leave Joanna at home. She couldn't take any chances and have the girl slip Jo a note from her father or anything like that. Her daughter will not have absolutely any contact with that failure of a man she was once married to.

"You look as charming as always dear." Barbara Darnell said as her daughter sat behind her in the hovercar "Once the judge sees what a dedicated mother you are he will have no other option but to give you everything you want. Not to mention you are a Darnell, and we are one of the most respected families in Atlanta."

"Did you tried to contact the judge already?" Jocelyn asked right away.

Her father nodded "I pulled some strings but I only got to talk to his secretary. I can't imagine why he would hire someone like her. Not only was she completely rude she had the strangest hairdo I have ever seen."

"Hmm… maybe she's his mistress." Jocelyn pointed out "Perhaps you should ask around daddy. You know yourself how valuable this kind of information are."

"I do know. And don't worry sweetheart. I already thought about it. It will be good to have a judge on our payroll now that Roger is out of the picture."

"I will comm. Andrea. See if she knows something." Barbara said before they all fell into silence for the remain of the drive to the court.

When they entered the courtroom Jocelyn was pleased to see some of her dearest girl friends seated on her side of the aisle. They were all smiling sweetly and saying how they are certain she would win and Jocelyn was beaming at them. Even though she couldn't stand either one of them.

Her position required that she spends time with them but that didn't mean she had to like them. Tasha Yar was always talking about her charity work and how much it helped those less fortunate. Jocelyn would rather spend those credits on a nice vacationKira Nerys was obsessed with volunteering in her daughter's school. Jocelyn didn't even know the names of Joanna's teachers nor did she care. They were below her anyway. Iliana Ghemor was restoring old priceless artworks. Jocelyn believed those things were ugly and should be burned. Tora Naprem spent most of her time traveling since she joined the Diplomatic Corps. Jocelyn couldn't imagine doing something like that… especially since she wouldn't get paid for it.

They were nothing like Jocelyn. They were so much better then she was.

Perhaps that way why she despised them.

Jocelyn sat next to her lawyer and listened him go on and on about the chances and percentages. It was a boring one-sided conversation but Willard Decker was a good lawyer that knew how to get what his clients demanded of him. Still, when she heard clicking of heals she focused on the entrance of the courtroom.

And there she was in all of her overconfident glory.

The little girl that wanted to ruin all of her family's perfectly made plans.

* * *

><p>That morning when Samuelle got dressed and stepped out of her bedroom the two Starfleet officers looked at her and shook their heads. She frowned looked down on herself and asked "What? No good?"<p>

"Too revealing." Rawlings commented.

She frowned again "It has long sleeves."

"Yes, and that heart-shaped hole above your chest."

"It's not heart-shaped. It has this thing in the middle. And it reminds of the Starfleet's cadet casual dress." She pointed out.

"Except the hole." He said back.

So she went back and changed into a knee long red sweater dress with sleeves that weren't actually attached to the dress. The result was the same but she reminded herself she might have a good opportunity to wear it anyway in the near future. So she put on the last red dress she had in her suitcase. She hadn't planned to wear it on the hearings. This one was planed for the celebration diner after her brother and the doctor arrive in Atlanta once the mission is completed since it was made out of red satin with short flowy sleeves and a v-neck with a thin belt.

But she trusted the two men. It was strange to do so cause they were Starfleet officers and weren't exactly wearing fashionable things on a daily basis but she trusted them.

And by the expression on Jocelyn's face it was a good call.

She noticed during the first hearing, if one could call it by that name, that Jocelyn's disdain wasn't just because of her presence. It was deeper. A woman in her suspected it had something to do with the fact she was in contact with Leonard McCoy or at least Jocelyn thought she was.

The woman was jealous. She didn't worry about the doctor and she definitely didn't love him but Jocelyn seemed unhappy that her former husband might find someone that would worry about him and love him. She wanted for him to remain alone for the rest of his life.

Sam smiled slightly as she walked through the low wooden door and sat on at the table on the right side. One more thing she could use against Jocelyn Darnell.

Her two shadows sat directly behind her and crossed their hands on their chests making them look dangerous. Making everyone aware Starfleet is behind its doctor and it's not happy.

The officer of the court walked in and called "All rise!"

As everyone did a woman in black hope stepped out of the judge's chamber and sat on behind the bench.

"Be seated!"

Barbara Darnell had to elbow her husband to get his attention so he would do as the officer said and not continue standing as some fool. She turned to him and whispered "What is wrong with you?"

"That is the judge… I thought she was the secretary."

"What?" Barbara asked and turned to look at the woman.

She was in her late thirties, had blue eyes and blue hair plaited into an unusual hairdo on top of her head. But her age and first-glance appearance were deceiving. Once a person looked better he or she could see judge Janice Rand was not a woman to mess with.

Her expression was that of completely seriousness and calmness. Her eyes were sharp and trained to notice even the slight change in those in front of her. She was fair and open-minded but always did things by the rules. She didn't accept guesses and hear-say stories in testimonies. Only bare facts.

Of course Barbara Darnell didn't know all that. But she knew it was the judge her husband talked to and not the secretary. And she knew that could cause them problems. But that thought lasted for a second. They were the Darnell's.

* * *

><p>Judge Rand look her PADD and read "Case number 1701. Darnell versus McCoy regarding the custody of one Joanna McCoy. Is that correct?"<p>

"No, your honor." Jocelyn's lawyer stood up "My client already has full custody. She is requesting to be given full parental rights so her new husband could adopt her daughter after they are married. Judge Korby had already made the ruling that she was given the full parental rights. I believe it was my client's former husband's representative that requested the repeated hearing because she is unhappy with the decision."

The judge looked back on the PADD and shook her head "I here have a request to repeat the custody hearing from before five years due to irregularities during that hearing, not the one regarding parental rights. From what I was told the judge that made the ruling back then was recently arrested for corruption and misusing of the position. Was it judge Korby that sat on both hearings?"

Willard Decker looked uncomfortable as he was answering "Yes, your honor."

"Well then my document is correct."

"Your honor, we are requesting for the old verdict to be accepted. Mr. McCoy is rarely planetside so Joanna would be spending most of her time with her mother anyway."

Sam stood up "Your honor, children have been living on starships for decades now. Doctor McCoy wished to have custody of his daughter so she could live with him and not just visitations rights so he could visit his daughter but only when his former spouse allows him to which isn't very often."

"Objection!"

Judge Rand looked at Decker "We haven't started with the hearing yet, you can't object." She then turned to Sam "Leave such comments for the finish word counselor."

"Yes, your honor." Sam said nodding slightly.

"Anything else?" the judge asked.

"Your honor, we are requesting for the old verdict to be accepted. Mr. McCoy didn't even bother to appear on the hearing that would decide if he should have the custody or not clearly showing he is not concerned for the well-being of his daughter."

Before Sam could say anything the judge reacted "Counselor Decker, Doctor McCoy signed a document giving his lawyer the full rights to represent him in this case as well as a written testimony regarding his position and obligations on the ship and listed all the modifications that were made since the ship's construction so it would be more children friendly. It is not a usual thing here on Earth but some exceptions have to be made when one of the sides is physically unable to be present. I'm guessing that is the case today?"

"Yes, your honor." Sam confirmed "Doctor McCoy is on a mission to Tarsus IV and is due to return in two to three days."

"Yes, that is one of the exceptions. But I see Starfleet is still present." Judge Rand said glancing on the officers behind Sam.

"Yes, Admiral Pike insisted on their presence."

"Alright. Counselor Decker your request is denied. We will continue as planed with doctor McCoy's written testimony accepted as evidence. I am certain you have received it as well. So… Counselor Kirk, you are first."

"Your honor, I request Jocelyn Darnell on the stand."

Jocelyn didn't even look fazed as she took a seat on the witness stand. She was on that place before and it went perfectly. She was taught far too well for anything to go wrong. She was even capable of crying on all the right places.

Sam stood up and fixed her satin skirt before stepping in front of the older woman. She was a woman with a mission!

"Miss Darnell, do you think you are a good parent?"

"Objection!" Willard Decker stood up and the judge gave him a strange look.

"What for?"

"I… counselor Kirk is trying to use reverse psychology."

Judge Rand was still looking at the man strangely "You can't possibly know what tactic counselor Kirk is using unless you have a Betazoid present to help you with that. And I wouldn't suggest that since is illegal. So, I'm going to allow the question. Miss Darnell, please answer."

"Yes, I believe I'm a good mother."

"And what, in your opinion, makes a good parent?" Sam asked again before turning to look at Jocelyn's lawyer but this time he remained quiet.

Jocelyn raised her head arrogantly "Someone who can set a good example for a child and teach it the right values. Something my former husband isn't capable of."

"In your opinion your former husband, who finished medical school and is now a Chief Medical Officer on board of a Federation flagship, isn't a good example for a child?"

"You are making it sound like Leonard is a saint! He isn't!"

"He is a doctor that is saving lives. Is that a good example for a child?"

"I'm a nurse! I help doctors saving lives! That too is a good example for a child!" Jocelyn snapped.

Sam smiled "Yes, in your record says you finished medical school and became a nurse before beginning to work in Atlanta Medical Center. And yet after checking the school records we found no evidence of you ever taking any tests just that you graduated there. And none of the students that graduated there in he same year as you did, according to your file, can remember someone by name Jocelyn Darnell ever coming to any of the theory classes or mandatory laboratory classes. Can you explain that?"

"I kept mostly to myself and studied instead of going out like everyone else so they must have forgotten about me."

"And the records?"

"I can't explain that. Perhaps you should check how long the records are being kept before they are deleted." Jocelyn was still arrogant but Sam could see the small cracks appearing.

"Twenty years. Did you went to any classes and took the tests or just got the degree based on who you are?"

"Objection!"

"Denied!" the judge said instantly "I would like to hear the answer to that question."

"Fine, I studied at home and just took the final exams! And before you ask, I don't know why they aren't in the records!" Jocelyn snapped at Sam.

"Are you aware that by law you are obligated to actually go on the classes? If you haven't you could be charged and prosecuted for working as a medical personnel without the proper education."

"That's not what we were told."

"Alright." Sam let it slide, she was aware she could ask more questions but she didn't feel the need too. It was obvious by the answers Jocelyn and her parents simply paid for her medical degree. But she had more questions "Why medicine? Why did you become a nurse?"

"Objection! What does my clients wish to become a nurse got to do with the case?"

"I'll allow it." Judge Rand said before looking at Sam "Next question."

"Are you familiar with Thomas Paris and John Harriman?" she asked.

Jocelyn glanced at her mother, something that didn't escaped Sam's eye "The names are familiar but I don't remember where I heard them."

"They were both doctors in the Atlanta Medical Center when you started working there. Does that help your memory?"

"Objection! How are some doctors my client doesn't even remember connected to this hearing?" counselor Decker stood up to protest.

Judge Rand looked at Sam in expectation of a good explanation. And Sam had it "I am trying to show a pattern in miss Darnell's behavior."

"Excuse me!" Decker protested "A pattern!"

Judge Rand looked at Sam "I will allow it but you have to be more direct. No more beating around the bush."

"Yes, your honor. I will rephrase my question." She focused back on Jocelyn "Before marrying doctor McCoy were you in a relationship with those two men?"

"We went out few times but that's it. It was years ago and completely irrelevant."

"Miss Darnell, I have a signed statement from several of your former coworkers from the hospital and they all claim you showed interest in more then just few dates with Thomas Paris and John Harriman. Is that correct?"

"No." Jocelyn said instantly.

"So it's also incorrect that they were fired right the next day after ending the relationships they had with you, after expressing they had no desire to marry you?"

"Yes."

"Even though one of the witnesses stated you and Thomas Paris had a rather loud argument in the staff room in which he straight out said he would never marry you?"

"Objection! I would like to see those statements!"

Sam looked at the judge, her face showing the traces of annoyance at the constant interruption "I have send the statements to counselor Decker as soon as the hearing date was set."

Judge Rand nodded "Have you checked your PADD counselor?"

"Yes, your honor. I have it right here and-" he touched the silicone surface and the screen came to life "There are several messages received that I haven't gone through."

"It is not counselor Kirk's fault you failed to go through the evidence she send you even though by law she wasn't obligated to since this wasn't a criminal case. So I would like to hear the answer on the question. Miss Darnell?"

"What was the question?" Jocelyn asked, not so arrogant anymore.

"Did you have an argument with mr. Paris in which he claimed he was not going to marry you?" Sam asked again, slightly rephrasing the question.

"I did."

"How long after that did doctor McCoy started to work at the Medical Center?"

Jocelyn started to show signs of discomfort "He was Thomas' replacement."

"Did you marry doctor McCoy just so you could take everything in a divorce?"

Jocelyn gasped before answering "Of course not! I married Leonard because he asked and I didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying 'no'."

"Did you thought you would hurt his feelings when you cheated on him? Or when you took his daughter away from him and didn't allow him to contact her?"

"Objection! The counselor is pestering my client!"

"I will allow it." Judge Rand looked at Sam "Do you have evidence miss Darnell committed adultery?"

"No direct evidence. Just indications."

"Not good enough." The judge then turned to Jocelyn "Miss Darnell, you aren't obligated to answer to the last two questions." And then she once more focused on Sam "Do you have any more questions counselor?"

"Just one more, your honor."

"Alright." Judge Rand said and Sam focused on the woman in front of her and took a deep breath.

"You yourself claimed a good parent is a person who can be a good example for a child and teach it right values. But in your testimony you admitted to never legally finishing medical school which means you worked without a license and so put countless patients in danger and if we read between the lines we can conclude you were set in marrying a doctor and if one refused you-" before Jocelyn's lawyer managed to stand up and object the judge raised her hand to silence him "-he was fired. So what good example can you set for your daughter and which moral values can you teach her? Because paying for a degree, marrying for money and then cheating a man out of everything he posses don't seem like something one should teach a child."

"Objection!"

Sam smiled "No further questions, your honor."

* * *

><p>Rawlings and Biordi were both grinning from ear to ear as they were exiting the courthouse. They saw the older Kirk in action and they liked what they saw. Hell, even if they had doubt about who she was today's hearing would remove any of those doubts. She shared several traits as her brother.<p>

She was a sweat talker when necessary, she attacked when she saw an opportunity and she defended those that needed defense.

Sam looked at the clear blue sky and smiled.

They were out there somewhere, behind the clouds and the great blue sky. Somewhere in the cold dark silent space filled with many dangers. But they would come back in one piece.

And she would wait for them. And she would have Joanna.

The chime of her personal communicator snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked at the caller and smiled.

It appears she will manage to close at least one chapter of this story today.

* * *

><p><strong>4. I added in some familiar faces and I hope you like it. Janice Rand makes a good judge, right? And since I never really liked the character of Willard Decker for some reason I decided to give him one of the disliked roles in the story.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>In a closed community like the Medical Center where everyone knew everyone, despite several hundred people working there, rumors tended to spread like a wildfire. First ones spoke about the family of some patient that died suing them but by the end of the day the nurses managed to find out and spread the actual story behind the director's visitor and her intentions.<p>

Since it's been five years now not all of them knew who Leonard McCoy was but those who did gladly shared their knowledge with their younger colleges. So by the time Sam walked through the main entrance just ten minutes after the comm. she received everyone knew why she was there.

But while most of them didn't really care the group of surgeons decided to bribe the director's secretary so they could find out what was going on behind the closed doors of their bosses office. They were the ones who knew Leonard and considered him a friend as well as one of the best surgeons that was ever fired; only in his case it was for no legal reasons.

The secretary was more then happy to redirect the inner comm. to the doctor's lounge on the sixth floor so they could listen what was going on for a large basket of chocolate products.

The doctor that delivered it to her was also carrying a bottle of champaign that he said might be opened after shift depending on what they hear. She thought they were exaggerating but didn't say it out loud. She knew the surgeons tended to be melodramatic sometimes.

The reception in the doctor's lounge was perfect so when the nine of them gathered there they could without a hitch listed to Sam ripping their boss a new one. And they loved every second of it.

Sam was completely unaware of the inner comm. system being turned on and redirected. And frankly even if she did knew she wouldn't care. People deserved to hear what kind of tool the director was.

"Miss Kirk, the hospital lawyers have assured me there can be no legal repercussion for-"

"Perhaps you need to hire a new set of lawyers." She interrupted him before pointing out "Do you know what performing medicine without a license means?"

"Miss Darnell didn't, as you call it, perform medicine."

Sam leaned back in the chair and was quiet for new moments before taking a deep breath and started to talk slowly like she was talking to a mentally challenged child "Jocelyn Darnell worked in this hospital for almost three years. But she didn't finished medical school on a legal way before that. That makes her and this hospital open to lawsuits from former patients. Your claim that she didn't practiced medicine doesn't make sense because that would mean her file is among the former employees was falsified and she was being paid for a job she didn't do. That too can have legal consequences. Now, did you understand what I just said or do you want me to repeat myself?"

The director frowned, he was visibly upset, and probably insulter as well "I am not a toddler miss Kirk. I am a director of a medical institution and I demand you treat me with respect I deserve."

"When you start acting like a director of a medical institution I will start respecting you. Because so far all I'm seeing is a marionette."

"I beg your pardon?"

Sam slowly leaned forward "As a director your first priority should be the Atlanta Medical Center. Making sure it's first class service and good reputation aren't in jeopardy. But instead-"

"I know my job miss Kirk! I don't need you to come here and teach me how to do it!" the director protested, rather loudly too. Loud enough for those who found themselves passing the hallway in front of the office could hear him.

But he didn't accomplish anything. His rant didn't upset Sam and she simply continued where he interrupted her "But instead you are covering for your chief of staff of the surgical ward. I seriously doubt the hospital lawyers have told you and the Center are safe of the potential lawsuits. Because you're not. And if you keep covering for Darnell you will sink down with him."

"Is that a threat?"

Sam groaned "Are you that dense? Jocelyn Darnell assisted in twenty-one surgeries performed by her father. Always by her father. No one else. The same woman that never received her license and had no right even entering the surgery room. And eight of those patients died from post-surgery complications. One of them because of the instruments forgotten in his intestine made more damage then burst appendix he was operated for. Do you know what that means? Are you aware of the amount of the credits you will have to pay if they decide to press charges for malpractice? And I'm pretty certain they will."

The man turned the unhealthy shade of green "The families have been informed?"

"I have send my evidence to several people who have the jurisdiction to act. My oath requires of me to act in cases like these." She sighed "One of the recipients was the Medical Ethical Committee. There will be repercussions."

"And what do you want from me? To jump ships?"

"Cooperate. Prove that you aren't a marionette that goes along with doctor Darnell's egocentric demands. Make the first step in fixing the damage he did to the Center's reputation with his opportunistic behavior."

"Starting with your client McCoy, I presume?"

"Only way I can put in a good word for you is if you give me a reason to." she pointed out.

"That's blackmail."

"That's logic. Doctor McCoy wasn't fired. He was disposed of once they got everything they wanted from him. Prove t to me that you disagree with that decision; that by the way wasn't made by the hospital committee like it's common in hospitals all over the world, but by one man."

"Darnell got me on this place." He finally said what Sam suspected all along. But she had just the right words to get him to see things from a different perspective.

"Your knowledge and your degree got you on this place. Not even Lindelof Darnell could get you a job of a director of the largest medical center in entire Georgia if you didn't have what it takes to become one. You are forgetting there are those who are above you. They are the ones that make the call. And they obviously saw the potential in you."

The man took a deep breath "I had someone sitting in the courtroom today. I was told how you handled Jocelyn. This thing could easily ruin the Center's reputation, I give you that." He then stood up and turned to look out the window to the backyard where the patients were sitting with their families during the visitation hours "The people of Atlanta deserve first class medical care. And my job is to ensure they got it." He glanced at Sam "What are the chance doctor McCoy would be willing to work here again?"

Sam smiled, first class medical care indeed "None for another two to three years since Enterprise's crew is commissioned for five years. After that who knows. But I doubt Starfleet will be willing to just let go of one of their most decorated and respected doctors without a fight."

"A fight we can't possibly win."

"He might decide to remain planetside or completely leave Starfleet because of his daughter but-"

"If he gets custody."

Sam snorted at the interruption, 'if' wasn't in her vocabulary, jut like a 'no-win scenario' "But by brother will go on another five year mission and knowing him he will do anything in his power to keep McCoy as the CMO. And Jim can be very persuasive."

"Alright. I will cooperate. What do you suggest as a metaphorical peace offering?"

* * *

><p>It was little after dawn when Sam woke up, startled by the dream she had. It wasn't often that she dreamt of the day her dad died, something she was grateful for, but the tension in the previous few days seemed to bring out the worst from her unconsciousness. And while something good happened that day it was also the mark from which everything went wrong.<p>

Her dad, as much as he wanted for her to receive the best education possible, would never leave her alone in some boarding school light years away from everything and everyone that was familiar to her and not even come to visit. Which was exactly what her mom had done.

She said it was because she had to focus on Jim now and it was difficult for her to deal with her own sorrow and two children. She was too young to completely understand but she knew what her mom wanted to say.

But then Winona left Earth.

Sam was angry when she first found out about it. It was three years after she was shipped off to school. She commed Jim to talk to him and was told by the woman that bought their house he was now living with their uncle. When she asked for her mom the woman told her she was on some mission in space. Apparently Winona informed the woman Sam would comm. but she didn't bothered to leave the new information on how to reach either her or Jim.

It took Sam over a year to track down uncle Frank since she didn't know much about him. Her dad never talked about his older brother. And for a good reason too. The man was a uneducated idiot that agreed to take care of Jim only because Winona said she would send him credits for Jim's needs.

Sam sighed and looked out the window only to notice it was raining. Perfect weather for her gloomy mood.

She wondered briefly how things could have been if Narada never happened but she knew she couldn't lose herself in those thoughts. Not today. There was still so much to do.

Instead she stood up and went to get ready. There was a little girl she needed to talk to today.

* * *

><p>Barbara Darnell was pleased with herself.<p>

When the lawyer warned Jocelyn the Kirk girl will want to question Joanna her daughter was worried the little brat might say something she wasn't supposed to. Well, Barbara made sure that doesn't happen.

Her little chat with McCoy's spawn was rather successful. The girl feared her, as it should be, and knew exactly what to say and what she wasn't under any circumstances allowed to say.

So everything should work out just as they planed.

* * *

><p>The two Starfleet officers once more sat behind Sam when they walked into the courtroom. But this time they were the first ones there. Jocelyn and her lawyer was still absent even though the hearing is about to start in just several minutes.<p>

The officer of the court seemed puzzled by their absence too and looked unsure if her should wait for them to appear or inform judge Rand. He knew she wouldn't be happy about it but there are certain conditions in which no legal actions are taken against those who don't appear. Sickness and death of a family member are some of them.

But being on this position for almost twenty years know he could sniff them by now. Those who coached witnesses, especially children, before their testimony. He had a pretty good feeling Willard Decker was one of those lawyers.

The knock on the door behind him informed him the judge will enter in exactly one minute and he was ready to enter the chamber and let the judge know one side is a no-snow when the courtroom doors opened and the Darnell family strolled in like they owned the place. He actually had to stop himself from snorting on their arrogance.

Just moments after they all sat on their places he called "All rise!"

* * *

><p>Sam was prepared.<p>

Getting a testimony from a child was never easy. They couldn't sit still and focus, they rarely remembered the details, and the adults in their life easily influenced them. Knowing exactly what kind of people in her life were like Sam expected Joanna received rules about things she wasn't allowed to talk about.

Yet another mistake on their part.

"Counselor Kirk, call your next witness." The judge said once the hearing continued.

"Your honor, I request Joanna McCoy on the stand."

"I have to object, your honor." Decker stood up "We are talking here about a small child whose testimony isn't important to this case."

"Your honor, Joanna McCoy is nine years old. She isn't a toddler that doesn't understand what is going on around her. She should have the right to speak for herself."

"I agree." The judge said before counselor Decker managed to add something else "So I will allow it."

Few minutes later a lovely little girl walked in the courtroom and walked down the aisle so she could take a stand. She completely ignored the look her grandmother and mother were giving her and instead focused on two men in red sitting on the right side behind the blond woman that smiled at her as she walked by.

Once Joanna swore to tell nothing but the truth judge Rand nodded to Sam that she can start.

It was a first time she ever had a child on the stand so she wanted to be polite "Hello Joanna, my name is Samuelle Kirk and I will ask you some questions. Alright?"

Joanna nodded before answering "Alright."

"Did your mother or mister Decker told you how to answer some of the questions I might ask?" she began her questioning and instantly the pain in her behind stood up.

"Objection, your honor!"

"I am merely curious if Joanna was coached how to answer." Sam defended her question.

"I am too. So I will allow the question." The judge looked at the girl that looked startled by the man's loud voice "Joanna, please answer the question."

She shook her head "No, my mom didn't tell me how to answer. Or mister Decker." Sam nodded and was about to ask her another question when Joanna added "My grandma did. She woke me up early and told me she will be very mad at me if I say some things today. And I don't like it when my grandma is mad at me because then she grabs me and shakes me while she jells that I'm stupid and can't do a simplest thing they ask of me." her eyes instantly widened "Oh, I just said something she told me not to."

Sam smiled kindly at the girl in front of her that was on the verge of panic "You did nothing wrong. You promised to tell the truth and that is what you did." when Joanna looked at her and nodded Sam asked her next question "Who do you want to live with?"

But before she answered Joanna leaned to the right and looked to the place where her mom and grandparents were sitting "I…"

When she hesitated Sam had to force herself to keep calm and encourage the girl "Joanna, if I wanted to know what your mom or grandmother think about where you should live and with whom I would ask them. But I want to know what you want?"

Joanna nodded and hesitantly whispered "The stars."

"Pardon."

"The stars. I want to live among the stars with my dad. But mom would never allow it. She always says he is… she says a bad word I'm not allowed to repeat. But I love my dad and I want to be where he is."

"When was the last time you talked to your dad?" she then asked.

Joanna scratched her blond hair like she was trying to remember the right answer "When I was seven. So… two years ago."

The answer made Jocelyn beam, something that didn't escape the two Starfleet officers. Or the judge.

"What about all the times he commed you since you were seven?"

"Objection! There is no proof doctor McCoy ever commed his daughter in the past two years."

Sam stopped herself from rolling her eyes just in time; she doubted the judge would allow that kind of disrespectful behavior no matter what.

"Every starship has a record of made comms. and Enterprise is no exception. I can produce a list of dates and times of every single comm. doctor McCoy made to the Darnell household."

"You have it in your possession?" judge Rand asked.

"Yes, your honor." Sam answered and walked to her table to take a PADD where she kept the less important evidence that she believed could be necessary. And she was right.

The judge took the PADD from her and scrolled through the document "Yes, there are records of a contact at least once a month but none of the communications lasted more then two minutes." She then turned to Joanna "Miss McCoy, please answer the question."

Joanna looked at Sam "What was the question again?"

"You said you haven't spoke to your dad since you were seven. What about all those times when he commed in the past two years? Didn't you talk to him?"

Joanna looked down and sniffed "Mom wouldn't let me. She didn't know I knew when he commed to talk to me. At first I believed her when she said daddy doesn't have the time anymore because he is on a starship. But one time I was behind the corner and I heard him trying to persuade her to let him talk to me."

"And what did your mom answered?"

"Objection! Hear-say, your honor!"

Judge Rand nodded "I am aware of that. And usually I wouldn't allow it but I am curious by nature. So, the witness may answer."

"Joanna?" Sam called her name quietly.

"Mom told him I wasn't home. Every time I heard her talk to him she would say that. That I was in school or at a friend's house or visiting my grandparents. But I wasn't. I was right there. I wanted to come out from where I was hiding so I can talk to him but I knew mom would be angry at me." she shrugged "So I stayed hidden. Mom never knew I was there. All I wanted in the last two years was to talk to my dad but I only got to hear his voice and my mom telling him he can't talk to me."

"Have you talked to your mom about what you want?" Sam asked after a minute of silence.

Joanna nodded "When she told me Clay was going to be my new dad I told her I already have one and that I want to live with him. She took me to my grandparents the next day so that my grandma can talk to me." the little girl sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand "Grandma told me I was stupid and that I talk nonsense. That Clay will be my new dad and that I will never see my real dad again. That she will make sure of it."

"Objection!"

Sam looked at the judge "I have no further questions, your honor."

Judge Rand nodded and looked at Joanna "You can leave the witness stand now."

When the little girl nodded and was led out by one of the officers Barbara Darnell went after them. She was unhappy with her granddaughter and wanted to make sure the little girl knows exactly how much.

"Counselor Kirk, any other witnesses you with to question?"

"None, your honor." Sam answered from her place behind the desk.

The judge nodded and turned towards Jocelyn's lawyer to give him permission to call his first witness on the stand when an officer of the court walked through the side door and approached her. He whispered something none of the present could hear but the expression on the judge's face quickly turned from curious to upset and she nodded before turning to look at those in the courtroom.

"We will take a short fifteen minutes recess." She hit her gavel and rushed out through the side door not even bothering to wait for all of them to rise.

Sam frowned.

This was not good.

* * *

><p><strong>4. Sorry for the long wait. I made plans to do so many things leaving me with little free time to write. But I finally focused all my attention on this chapter. Hope you like it.<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>"Counselor Kirk, any other witnesses you with to question?"<p>

"None, your honor." Sam answered from her place behind the desk.

The judge nodded and turned towards Jocelyn's lawyer to give him permission to call his first witness on the stand when an officer of the court walked through the side door and approached her. He whispered something none of the present could hear but the expression on the judge's face quickly turned from curious to upset and she nodded before turning to look at those in the courtroom.

"We will take a short fifteen minutes recess." She hit her gavel and rushed out through the side door not even bothering to wait for all of them to rise.

Something was going on. Sam was sure of it.

* * *

><p>The dark smoke managed to pull through below the metal doors of the engineering and make everyone who was passing though the corridor cough. It wasn't a common occurrence but it wasn't as rare as Starfleet Command would have like it to be. But they, just like the crew of the Enterprise, had to make peace with the fact that as brilliant Scotty was the man had no limit when it came to tinkering with the ships engines so they would work better and more efficient.<p>

Unfortunately sometimes he would go over his abilities and something contra-productive would happen.

Hence the dark smoke. Sort off.

"Get down from there and help me, would ya? I need that wrench!" the chief engineer yelled at him small alien friend "And hurry up! They know something happened and they will send someone to see what it was." As soon the words were out of his mouth Scotty's communicator beeped "Well, hell!"

He thought about ignoring it but after just few seconds a gruff voice behind him spoke "I told you not to keep it here. Eventually something would happen with it and the sensors would blame the entire engineering for it. And you'll have no other explanation then the truth. And you know what will then happen."

Scotty turned to the ships CMO "Not many places where I could keep it where it won't look out of the place. So it's either engineering or at your place. And sometimes I doubt you would allow it in your pristine clean medbay. And with the amount of time the captain spends there he would certainly notice it eventually. He rarely comes this deep in the engineering."

The communicator beeped again and Scotty sighed.

"Better answer that." McCoy suggested before walking past the Scottish man and looked at the still that continues to release small amounts of smoke and make strange noises.

"This is Scotty."

"_Lieutenant Commander Scott, the sensors are showing there is a fire in the engineering."_ First officer Spock's voice was heard through the communicator.

"No fire. Just a bit of smoke. We had a small case of overheating but it's sorted now."

"_Do you require assistance?"_

"No, no. It's nothing my folks can't fix."

"_Very well then."_

As the communication was broken off Scotty sighed "Now I have nothing against Vulcans but that one always unnerves me."

McCoy shrugged "Must be the eyebrows."

"Aren't you on duty?" the engineer finally asked the question that bugged him since the doctor showed up "And don't you usually spend the time on the bridge when there is nothing to do in the medbay?"

"Usually. But your folks, as you call them, are very punctual." The doctor turned to look at the engineer "It ran out of water and started to heat the sediment." He pointed to the still across his shoulder.

"Yeah, I noticed. But what is this about my folks?"

A loud band and some jelling interrupted McCoy before he managed to answer. A barely visible smile appeared on his face as he walked pass Scotty and towards the place from where the commotion was coming.

"Were a day and a half away from Earth and there were no accidents in the engineering. I knew it was just a matter of time."

Scotty grumbled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse and followed the doctor. There was no way in hell he would ever admit out loud that he expected something to happen soon as well.

* * *

><p>The nurses were ready by the time the doctor returned in the medbay accompanied by three crewmembers. And while two were only injured lightly and could be handled by the more then capable nurses McCoy took upon himself to fix ensign Kim's broken leg.<p>

It was an open fracture and required doctor's extensive knowledge and a smaller operation. Something that the ensign wasn't all that happy with "Can't you just pop it back?"

McCoy lifted an eyebrow and growled "Good God man, you didn't broke your nose so I can just pop it back. It's your leg. And in case you haven't noticed a part of your bone is sticking out of the flesh."

"I noticed it."

"Then don't talk nonsense!" he snapped before beginning his customary grumbling "Pop it back… what does everyone think, that I can just make it all go away in a second… I'm a doctor, not a magician…"

Christine Chapel, who had the privilege to stand next to her boss when he started his tirade, simply grinned before turning to the injured man "Ensign Kim, how did you injure yourself?"

The young man smiled sheepishly at the blonde nurse before admitting "I lost my footing and fell down the ladder."

"Aha." She marked her answer on her PADD before asking again "And if I understood correctly the other two were injured as a result of your fall?"

Ensign Kim nodded "I… Um…"

"He fell right on top of them." McCoy grumbled "Good thing he did though. They cushioned the fall, otherwise the damage would have been worse."

Chapel's blue eyes moved between the doctor and the patient "The ladder that connect the warp core level with the main level?" she guesses.

Both men nodded in response and she wondered if she should ask how come the doctor was conveniently present at the scene of the accident as it happened but decided it wouldn't be wise. Her boss was grumpy enough as it is.

She hoped that would change once they reached Earth.

* * *

><p>At the same time on the bridge Jim Kirk was doing his own version of grumbling. The meeting with governor of Tarsus IV was still on his mind and still unnerved him. He would gladly give an order to turn the ship around and return to the planet so he could throttle the man.<p>

But a side effect of that order would be his CMO hypospraying him in the next week. And maybe a mutiny because the shoreleave that was scheduled after this mission. And some tongue-lashing from Admiralty. And a scandal of huge proportions.

Although there were some who would congratulate him for doing it; Jim was sure of it.

All in all it wasn't worth it. _He_ wasn't worth it.

"Any news from the Starfleet?" Kirk turned and looked at the communication officer for fifth time in the last hour, and not only because she was good looking.

Lieutenant Uhura was on the end of her patience "None captain. The moment there is something I will inform you."

"Good, you do that." The young captain said and turned away. Few moments later he interrupted the silence "Are we in communication range yet?"

Few of the bridge crewmembers glanced at the captain that was behaving like an impatient child. Yes, he tended to act childins from time to time but this was too much, even for him.

"Something bothering you captain?" his first officer asked in his usual calm manner.

Kirk turned towards the Vulcan and looked at him like he expected Spock to instantly know why he was acting like this. But after few moments of silence he finally said "I'm expecting someone to comm. regarding the report I send about Kodos. I doubt he and his plans are something that could be left for later."

"Perhaps the Federation officials are waiting for our return so they could speak to you personally regarding the governor, captain." Spock offered an explanation.

"We are still hours away from returning home. Kodos is something that needs addressing instantly. I can not believe they would wait before acting."

Spock knew it was immature of him but he simply had to ask "Does that frustrate you?"

Kirk looked at him and grinned "I had that one coming."

"You did." Spock agreed.

An hour or so later the gamma shift crew came in to replace the present one and Jim was finally off duty and able to rest. But after sixteen hours of sitting in the captain's chair and thinking about that damn arrogant man he found himself in his bed still wide awake and thinking about Kodos. And that made him angry even more.

The insomnia lasted almost an hour before he managed to find a comfortable position and drift to sleep.

Only to be awoken by the beeping of his communicator.

After some groaning and cursing Jim finally managed to free himself from his cover and grab the small device from the bedside table "Kirk here."

"Sorry to wake you up captain but lieutenant Uhura ordered me to do so if there is a comm. from Starfleet. And Admiral Pike did insist to speak with you as well."

Somewhere through the fog Jim heard the words 'Uhura', 'comm.', and 'Pike' and it took few moments till he was conscious enough to connect them all to they would make sense. And once he did he sat up and said "I'm on my way. Kirk out."

It took Jim good ten minutes to get dressed and get to the bridge but the Admiral didn't minded. He looked slightly sheepish once his face appeared on the screen.

_"I'm aware that the comm. could have come in a better time but I thought you would want to hear the news as soon as possible."_ When Jim nodded the admiral continued _"The Starfleet received your report and forwarded it to the Federation officials. To say they were shocked would be an understatement. There will be repercussion against Kodos but I don't think it would be anything mayor. After all he only informed you of his plan, didn't actually made a move against the people of Tarsus IV."_

"But something will be done?" Jim asked just to make sure he heard it correctly.

_"Something, yes. He will most likely be degraded and moved to a different colony."_

Jim wasn't pleased but he knew there was nothing he could do against it "Better something then noting, I guess. Is that all Admiral?"

Pike shook his head slightly before answering _"I'm forwarding a transmission I received half an hour ago. I suggest you get the senior officers together before you watch it. I am sure they will all want to know."_

"Sir?" Jim was confused.

_"You will know once you watch it. Pike out."_

Jim took a deep breath and turned towards the communication officer "Hate to give this order at this time but comm. the senior officers and have them meet me in my ready room."

"Yes sir." The young ensign said and turned towards the console to do as ordered.

* * *

><p>Almost half an hour later Jim's ready room was occupied by the senior officers and they weren't all that happy about being woken up after double shifts. But a serious look on Jim's face made all of them refrain from commenting on the fact.<p>

Or almost all of them.

Scotty was grumbling about being hungry and, to none's surprise, McCoy was muttering about accidentally killing a patient if he didn't get enough sleep. And hoping that patient is Jim since he was the one who called the meeting in a middle of a night, or what they refer as a night.

"Okay, I know you are all wondering why I called you here so I'll cut to the chase." Jim said and instantly several people grumbled in approval "I got a comm. from admiral Pike regarding the report I've send in on governor Kodos. Unfortunately the news weren't what I hoped they would be. Because he hasn't actually acted on his plan they can't do much against him. Only move him to another planet and not give him that much power. Also…"

"Damnit Jim… You got us all up in this hour to tell us about Kodos? I know that man infuriated you but this could have waited till the morning." The extremely annoyed CMO asked before glancing around "And why are all senior officers present?"

Jim waited few seconds after his friend stopped with the rant to explain "Also… the admiral suggested I get you all together because of a transmission he received and then forwarded to us. Now I have no clue what it is about but if he said it's important them I'm agreeing. So…" he pressed several buttons on the console on his desk and the screen on the left wall, opposite of the windows that showed the breathtaking view of the space, lit up.

At first there was static but then a picture appeared.

It showed a woman in a news studio sitting behind a glass desk with a large screen on behind her left shoulder. She was checking something on the PADD in front of her when the short music signal announced the beginning of the show.

The woman focused on the camera and smiled before she started to talk _"Hello and welcome to Atlanta for the World! I am your host, Masaro Holt. Tonight we have prepared for you: "The opening of the first Vulcan restaurant in Georgia", "An exhibit of ancient artifacts found near Celumbus", "International chess championship". But for the start of the show we have prepared a short report regarding a news that shook the very foundations of our city since it became public just few hours ago."_

Everyone in the ready room were fidgeting and whispering, trying to understand what was going on. One look was all it took Jim to realize his friend was completely unaware of it all. He was completely engrossed in the screen.

The news were from Atlanta, something Jim didn't expect. He thought Sam would comm. him once something, anything, important happened. So the fact it was the admiral that send in the news recoding to them puzzled him. Unless they were in contact.

Unless the news were more then Jim expected. He thought they would still be in a middle of a trail when Enterprise returned to Earth.

Dare he hope that it was already over?

The camera now focused on the woman's face and she continued to speak _"Everyone in Atlanta are familiar with the Darnell family. They are regular guests on charity events as well as politic fundraisers. All in all a perfect example of how a family should be. But as it turns out that perfection is only on the surface. Behind the closed doors the Darnell family is everything but a role model for any family."_

The screen behind the woman came to life and a several year old picture from an Atlanta Medical Center charity event appeared. Featuring Leonard and Jocelyn McCoy.

"Looking good there Bones." Jim said before thinking and got a sour look from his friend.

"Right." The doctor mumbled.

"_Ten years ago everyone talked about the beautiful wedding of Jocelyn Darnell and Leonard McCoy who was well known in medical circles for his groundbreaking research. Nine years ago the couple got a lovely child. Five years ago it all fell apart. And while everyone had their version of the event and a reason behind it the truth didn't became known until one young woman decided to unravel the largest case of corruption ever in the state of Georgia. More about this from our reporter Derek Kelby."_

The picture on the screen changed from the previous one to the live feed of a man in front of a tall building.

"_Greeting! This is Derek Kelby live in front of the Atlanta's Courthouse! We wanted to bring you the image from inside the courtroom where the trial was being held but unfortunately the judge denied the petition. For all those who are still in need of some background information: Three days ago judge Roger Korby gave Jocelyn Darnell the full custody over her daughter Joanna without any proper hearing after which doctor McCoy's representative reported him to the board and submitted quite a lot of incriminating evidence against the man who was, till now, Atlanta's most respected judge. According to our informant the evidence contained trial transcripts that showed irregularities in the judge Korby's decisions that sometimes clashed with the law, financial statements and communication logs among other things. Because of that a new hearing was scheduled, a repeat of the trial from five years ago when doctor McCoy not only lost custody over his daughter but also his entire estates as well as his job prior to the trial. We have confirmed information that the doctor was fired without any legal grounds. Not surprising considering the man who fired him used to be his father-in-law. We are still awaiting news from the inside."_

The reported turned towards the courthouse and observed people who were stepping outside and entering the hovercars. He pressed a hand to his ear to hear better the voice that was coming though the small communication device reporters often used to get news faster.

_"It seems there was a situation in the courthouse earlier. Our reported who was following a different hearing just informed me judge Rand, who as you know is replacing judge Korby, was called from the courtroom because of an incident with one of the witnesses. The older woman, that our reported recognized as Barbara Darnell, was having a shouting match with a small girl and the judge was forced to act against it since some of the things she was saying were threats against the girl. Because there is only one child connected to this case it isn't hard to conclude the girl in question is none other then nine-year-old Joanna McCoy. That is all for now. I am certain there should be some news soon. But for now back to you Masaro."_

The static on the screen made everyone remember where they were and focus on the doctor that silently stood leaned on the captain's desk. He looked completely engrossed on the screen even though there was nothing interesting there. But the knew him better. He might look like he was watching the screen but his mind was light-years away.

As usual Jim was the first one to break the silence "I was kind of hoping for better news but better something then nothing I guess. That judge will get trailed for corruption and I don't think they will go easy on him."

Most of the gathered officers nodded in agreement. Some of them believing the judge couldn't possible get the high enough sentence for everything he had done. Some thinking he should be transported to space without any protection.

"Perhaps we should all retire now" Spock spoke after few moments of silence "The admiral will send a transmission if more news are showed regarding the case."

Jim was about to agree when the static disappeared from the screen and they were once more watching the woman in the studio.

_"Because of the new development the report about the chess championship will be shown tomorrow. Right now we will connect directly to our crew outside that is following the Darnell-McCoy case. Derek, tell us what is going on."_

The scene changed to the same reporter but instead of standing in front of the courthouse he was now turned away from a two story residential house in one of the more luxurious neighborhoods of Atlanta.

A gasp coming from McCoy made everyone look at him.

"Bones?"

"That's my house."


	11. Chapter 11

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p><em>"Because of the new development the report about the chess championship will be shown tomorrow. Right now we will connect directly to our crew outside that is following the Darnell-McCoy case. Derek, tell us what is going on."<em>

The scene changed to the same reporter but instead of standing in front of the courthouse he was now turned away from a two story residential house in one of the more luxurious neighborhoods of Atlanta.

_"As you can see I am no longer in front of the courthouse. Right now I'm standing in front of the house that once belonged to doctor Leonard McCoy before he lost it in a divorce. But from today this beautiful old house is once more considered the doctor's property. Half an hour ago a spokesperson employed in the courthouse gave a statement to the press saying judge Janice Rand made her decision and returned to Leonard McCoy all the possessions illegally taken away from him as well as given him full custody of his daughter Joanna._

_Regarding the event that caused judge Rand to leave the courtroom that we mentioned in the previous report we got this explanation: "The state of Georgia is against corporal punishment of children as a way of upbringing them to be good people. Judge Rand was called away because one such breach of law was happening inside the courtroom's witness waiting room. By the time the judge entered the room the woman, Barbara Darnell was restrained by the officer of the court, but still made verbal threats against the nine-year-old Joanna McCoy. Because of that Barbara Darnell was taken into custody and charges will be raised against her. The whole event was a result of Joanna McCoy's testimony in which she spoke of the emotional abuse by her mother and grandmother as well as her mother's consistent prevention of communication between the girl and her father."._

_We were hoping in getting a statement from either the Darnell family or their lawyer but our request was refused. We did however receive a short statement from doctor McCoy's representative Samuelle Kirk. This is what she wrote: "I am happy with the judge's ruling. Joanna McCoy is a bright young girl and deserves to grow in a good environment surrounded by people that love her and will help her achieve her full potential. She too is happy by the decision and is eagerly waiting to see her dad again and give him a big hug."._

_This is all for me for now. We will continue waiting in hope of marking a touching family reunion after five years of separation._

_Back to you Masaro."_

Sam looked away from the screen and shook her head. It was starting to get ridiculous by now.

She recorded and send to admiral Pike the first report aired on the local network and since then it has been aired over a dozen times on the same network and gods know how many times on international networks. She didn't exactly expected that since the doctor was only mentioned by name but it appears that his name alone is enough for people to recognize him as the Starfleet officer that served on the Enterprise at the time of the Narada disaster.

She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

Because while it placed the Darnell family under the magnifying glass the same thing happened with Joanna as well. And that was the last thing the girl needed after the fiasco in the courthouse.

When the judge followed the officer of the court outside she know something happened. When she and the Darnell's lawyer were called into the judge's chamber she knew it wasn't some minor thing.

When she saw Joanna sitting on the chair in the corner of the office crying she knew she had to fight with everything she had to get the little girl back to her father where she would be safe.

A chiming sound surprised Sam and she almost cut herself while cutting the strawberries. She sighed thinking the reporters were again at the door but a quick glance out the window showed her they were all still patiently waiting on the other side of the street. The chiming repeated and it made her realize it was coming from the house's comm. system.

Wiping her hands she walked to the living room and accepted the comm. after checking the number from which it was made.

"Hope you had a good day so far admiral." She said as the image of the older man appeared on the screen.

He smiled slightly before answering _"Very good day, thank you._"

"Any news from the Enterprise?" she asked before he managed to explain why he was contacting her. It was a Kirk thing. They were extremely inpatient and as much as Sam tried to hide that sometimes it just didn't work.

The admiral didn't seem to mind. Years of dealing with her younger brother were good practice _"That is actually the reason behind this comm.. The Enterprise docked early this morning and the shuttles brought most of the crew down. Unfortunately because of the nature of their last mission those who were on Tarsus VI will be debriefed before they can leave the Academy."_

"How long should that last? So I know what to tell Jo."

The admiral sighed _"Don't expect them before tomorrow."_

"Them?" the usage of plural didn't escape Sam.

_"Kirk already made clear he plans to go with McCoy. I suspect several senior officers will be joining them before traveling to their original shore leave destinations. Their way of welcoming young Joanna into the crew."_

"That's probably better. She won't be so overwhelmed once she's onboard of the Enterprise and surrounded by several hundred unknown crewmembers. This way she will know at least few of them."

_"I agree."_ The admiral nodded before a voice made him look away from the screen_ "Unfortunately I have to cut this short. There is a meeting I must attend."_

"I understand. Good day sir."

_"Good day, and thank you for everything."_ The admiral said before the screen went black.

"My pleasure." Sam muttered and walked back to the kitchen to finish the breakfast before Joanna woke up. She passed Rawlings and Biordi who were standing on the kitchen doorway and greeted them before returning to the pancakes mixture. She added the strawberries she previously cut and mixed them in.

"I believe I heard admiral Pike's voice." Lieutenant Rawlings said casually. Sam looked at the serious looking man and laughed. He tried to look like he wasn't interested but she knew better.

"Yes, he informed me that Enterprise docked. But they won't arrive to Atlanta till tomorrow. If they are lucky." She explained.

"Debriefing?" Rawlings asked and Sam nodded in response.

Biordi groaned "I remember how it was after the Narada incident. Countless hours of answering the same questions."

"I doubt this will last that long or be that detailed." Rawlings comented.

Sam sighed "I hope so. I don't want to have to tell Joanna her father is back planetside but can't come yet because some admirals are questioning him."

"I don't think the admirals are actually participating in the debriefing." Rawlings said and Sam turned to glare at him.

"I don't thing Jo will care who is participating. All she will care about is her dad not coming yet."

Biordi leaned towards his friend and stage-whispered "She has a point there."

Sam laughed and decided to change the subject "I hope neither of you minds pancakes with strawberries."

"No ma'am." They answered simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Joanna woke up an hour later and slowly came down the stairs. She peeked around the corner and smiled seeing Sam sitting on the sofa reading something on a PADD. She dreamt her mom was back in the house and telling her that her dad wasn't coming to get her because the judge changed her mind. She was glad it wasn't true because she liked her dad a lot and wanted to live with him. And she liked Sam too. She was very nice and very smart.<p>

"Hungry?" a voice startled her and Joanna looked up and noticed Sam observing her calmly.

She nodded before asking "Did you already eat?"

"No, I just fed the guys. But I was waiting for you so you wouldn't eat alone."

"Thank you." The girl smiled slightly and rushed to the kitchen. After sitting down on a high chair at the kitchen island she sighed "Mom never did that. She usually gave me something and told me to hurry up because she had to be somewhere."

"Well I'm not your mom so take your time." Sam comforted her before she remembered to ask "When does your school start?"

"On Monday." Joanna answered shortly before stuffing a piece of a pancake in her mouth.

Sam laughed at her own mistake "It seems I've mixed the days. And I was certain that today was Friday."

The dark blond hair moved slightly when Joanna shook her head "That was yesterday. And I missed school because I had to go to court."

"Will someone comm. you to let you know what you missed and what's for homework? One of your friends?" Sam asked as she was cutting her pancake in smaller pieces. The truth was she wasn't very hungry but she didn't want to skip breakfast and have the little girl eat alone.

"No. My teacher probably will." The sad voice didn't escape the older woman and it made Sam wonder just how messed up Joanna's life was.

"Don't you have any friends that would do that?"

A small frown appeared on Joanna's face and she muttered "I go to a private school. I'm there to study not to make friends."

"I went to a private school too and I made a lot of friends." Sam said as calmly as she could. She had a desire to strangle Jocelyn; there were so many activities a nine-year-old could do that would help her make friends. But it seems her mother was far to self-absorbed to do something so selfless for her own child.

"Oh, which school? Was it very big? My school is huge; we have so many different classrooms. And a greenhouse where they teach us about botany." Joanna took a deep breath before continuing "I didn't want to go there at first because it's so far away and someone always had to drive me there but I learned so much that I wouldn't learn in my old school. And I need to know all that if I want to become a doctor like my dad. Do you think he would like me becoming a doctor like him? Maybe even join Starfleet? Do you think he would be proud?"

"Wow…" Sam muttered before answering the questions she remembered "My mom send me to a school on Andoria little after my brother Jim was born. It was a boarding school where kids lived during the entire year so it was only natural that it's big. I didn't like being away from my mom because my dad died just few months before I was shipped off but she didn't listen to me and said it was for my own good."

"Just like my mom then." Joanna pointed out and Sam nodded in agreement "So, do you think he would be proud of me if I became a doctor? My dad?"

"I never met your dad." Sam reminded Joanna of that little fact "But I think any good parent would be proud if their child decided to pursue such a selfless career."

The little girl looked down on the floor and whispered "My mom wouldn't. She told me once it's better to get married wealthy then work for your own credits. But how does that help people?"

"It doesn't." the answer was simple and the little girl nodded before looking up.

"What's your mom like?"

Sam sighed "I remember her to be very kind and compassionate before my dad died. She didn't changed much with years but she just… focused that care on other people, people she didn't know and left her own kids behind for other to take care for. I don't know why she did that. Maybe it just hurt her too much to look at Jim and me and see our dad in us. I haven't talked to her in several years now."

"Why?" Joanna asked the most common question children ask and Sam laughed slightly before getting serious again.

"Because she said some mean things about Jim when we talked. She kept comparing us even though she never gave us a same chance to do something with our lives. Do you understand what I mean?"

"So, Jim didn't go to same school?"

"No, she raised Jim till he was old enough to go to school on Andoria or any other but instead of sending him there she left him with our uncle Frank who was a bad person. And then when we talked she commented how she wished Jim was more like me and actually did something with his life."

"That doesn't sound fair." The little girl muttered and Sam decided to steer the conversation away from her childhood.

"What about you? What do you remember about how things were before your dad left?"

Joanna's eyes instantly lit and a smile spread on her face "My dad was the best in the whole universe. He would take me to a park or a museum when he wasn't working. Mom would say he needed to spend free time at home but he liked going places with me. And one time he took me to a man that had horses and I rode a pony. And sometimes he sang to me."

"Really?" Sam asked trying to hide her surprise. Rawlings and Biordi described the doctor as a grump who enjoyed hypospraying people and giving them lectures. She wondered how much fault the divorce had in that change.

"Yes. He would always sing this one song. He said it was very old but he knew all the words." Joanna sounded extremely proud of that.

"Do you remember the song's name or some of the words?"

The little girl frowned "Some of it. It was about kisses and she was three. And her dad had to go but said he would be back. Do you know what song that is?"

Sam shook her head "It doesn't sound familiar but I'll search for it and then we could listen it together if you want. Maybe while baking some cakes?"

"Cakes? Why?"

"Don't you want to bake cakes for your dad?" Sam asked faking confusion.

"He's coming? Here? When?"

"Tomorrow. He would be here today but a lot of boring people are going to ask him a lot of boring questions regarding the last mission."

"Sounds boring." Joanna said and giggled "Can we make cakes with chocolate? I think those are my dad's favorite? And jelly with mint?"

"Those with chocolate are everyone's favorite. Except of Vulcans."

"They don't like chocolate?" that surprised the little girl and her eyes widened.

Sam laughed "I'm sure they like it but chocolate… it makes them do silly things." She didn't know how to explain to the girl that chocolate had same effect on Vulcans as alcohol on humans because… well she had no idea if Joanna knew how humans react to alcohol. She hoped Joanna didn't know that. No none-year-old should know that.

"But jelly with mint is okay?"

Sam scratched her head "I never ate jelly with mint." She admitted.

"My dad once said it was the best thing ever. But it wasn't hard enough like jelly supposed to be."

"Why do you think that?"

Joanna shrugged "Because he had to drink it with a glass."

She answered in such an innocent voice Sam had to stop herself from laughing when she realized what the little girl really wanted for them to make "Um… I'll see if I can find out how to make that jelly. But if I can't find the recipe we'll just make more cakes with chocolate and maybe some with fruit like strawberries. How about that?"

When Joanna agreed Sam was relieved. The little girl didn't know that jelly with mint that didn't got hard enough and her dad liked was in fact mint jelup. An alcoholic drink. Sam decided to give the good doctor some guidelines regarding things not to be said around Joanna.

* * *

><p>That night the girls occupied the kitchen and send the two Starfleet officers in the living room so they wouldn't bother them. They were only welcome when something was finished and they needed someone to taste it.<p>

Neither of them bothered. In fact they agreed this was a best assignment they ever had. After all how often can you spend your time sitting on a comfortable sofa with your legs on a coffee table, eating something with chocolate in it or on it and listening to two lovely ladies singing along with a several centuries old song. Set on repeat.

Sam and Joanna were both unaware of their thoughts. They simply had fun.

The little girl was beaming and bouncing around the kitchen dressed in her pajamas with a small apron around her waist and sometimes using a spatula as a microphone as she sang along:

_…Kisses for me_  
><em>save all your kisses for me.<em>  
><em>Bye, bye<em>  
><em>baby, bye, bye. Don't cry honey<em>  
><em>don't cry<em>  
><em>Gonna walk out the door<em>  
><em>but I'll soon be back for more…<em>

_…Kisses for me_  
><em>save all your kisses for me.<em>  
><em>Bye, bye<em>  
><em>baby, bye, bye. Don't cry honey<em>  
><em>don't cry.<em>  
><em>Won't you save them for me...<em>

_even though you're only three?_

Sam was extremely glad she managed to find that song. She just wondered how in the world doctor McCoy knew it.

* * *

><p>Jim wasn't sure if he should be amused or worry. Sure, watching his CMO friend pace around the small room while muttering something and waiving his hands from time to time was fun to watch he was seriously concerned for McCoy's mental well-being.<p>

Being stuck on Academy must feel like a punishment or something for the older man. The saying 'so close and yet so far away' came to Jim's mind.

He finally had her back, his little Joanna, but there was no way to get to her anymore. At least not today. Jim was the one who checked the flight schedule and realized there wasn't any more shuttles flying towards Atlanta or anywhere near it today. And he was seriously expecting for McCoy to kill the messenger. Or at least hypospray him. And he wasn't sure what was worse.

So instead he got them housing on the Academy grounds and a bottle of bourbon.

"Can you believe this?" the doctor turned towards him and glared "What are you doing Jim?"

The young captain looked at him innocently "What? I'm bored."

At that point McCoy had enough. He sat down on the other bed and glared at his friend "So you're playing Solitaire using cards with naked women on them. Damn it Jim, this is serious!"

"No it isn't!" there was very little that could unnerve Jim Kirk when he was planetside and resting "And you're looking at this thing from a completely wrong perspective!"

"And how exactly should I look at it?"

Jim's blue eyes softened "This is the last time Bones. The last time you have to be away from Joanna for such a long period of time. The away missions we were on so far all lasted under four days. And even when you're on the planet helping someone you can still contact her. She'll be on the Enterprise, in the planets orbit. Hell, if you squint you'll probably be able to see her waiving at you from one of the windows."

"You're laying it a little bit think on the end there." The doctor grumbled "But thanks for reminding me. I just-"

"You want to be there right this minute." Jim knew exactly what he wanted to say.

"And you don't? How long has it been since you saw your sister?"

Jim grimaced "Ten years or so. I don't really remember." He looked at his friend "That's kind of sad, isn't it?"

"Was it really that bad?"

A snort escaped Jim before answered "You know just how big of an ass I can be. Well, I was like that pretty much every time I talked to her since the last time we met face to face. I think that was when she graduated and before she to law school. Our mom played a rather big role in the whole thing. She kept comparing us and I hated it."

"She was the golden child and you-"

"And I was a reminder of something she wanted to forget." Jim muttered before deciding to change the subject "What did you get Joanna?"

"What do you mean 'get'?"

The younger man groaned "Bones, you're going to see your girl for the first time in several years and you don't have a present for her? Seriously?"

"Oh, crap. Now think I know now what Chapel wanted to tell me before you interrupted and asked me to join you on the bridge."

"Well, what do you think she would like? Maybe we could-"

"A dog." Leonard interrupted him and Jim frowned. Not cause of the interruption but cause of the answer.

"Well, you could probably get her one but Spock would complain about regulations and all that crap." Jim paused for a moment before grinning "You could always get her a tribble."

"Absolutely not! Those things are born pregnant!"

"Oh, you could get her her own medikit! We could decorate it with glitter and stuff!"

"That's actually a pretty good idea, Jim. But how are we going to get our hands on glitter?"

Jim pondered for a bit "Maybe one of the girls have some."

Leonard just stared at him "I doubt Uhura uses glitter and she is the only female from the Enterprise still on the Academy grounds."

"Oh, the Enterprise! You can get her Lady Enterprise!"

After giving Jim his patented what-is-wrong-with-you looks Leonard asked "What in the world in Lady Enterprise?"

"A doll I saw in a gift shop just outside of the Academy. She's dressed in this strange clothes that remind of the Enterprise, the thrusters and all."

The doctor remained silent for few moments before looking at the chronometer on the wall "The flight is at six. I hope they are still open."

Once he was out of the room Jim grinned and sat at the desk. He wanted to talk to Sam but didn't want Bones to overhear. It would ruin the element of the surprise.

After few moments of silence the screen in front of him came to life and the face of his older sister appeared on it.

"Hey Sam! How are things in Atlanta?"

_"Quiet. Joanna got to bed early so she could stay extra late awake tomorrow with her dad. Speaking of which, how is doctor McCoy?"_

"Doctor McCoy…" Jim snorted "Bones is just fine. Went to get a gift for his little girl since he completely forgo about it before."

_"Bones? What kind of nickname is that?"_

"It's his own fault. He should have told me bones were all he had left after the divorce and that his wife took the whole world."

_"That changed Jim. I got the case."_

"I know. Admiral Pike send us the recording." He grinned "Nice job sis. You showed them what happens when you mess with a Kirk!"

Sam laughed _"I sure did. And that is something none of them will forget anytime soon. But I doubt you commed me just for some small talk. So spit it out."_

"Bones won't be coming alone to Atlanta. He'll have company."

_"Admiral Pike told me of that possibility."_ Sam informed him _"How many people?"_

"Just a few. Bones, me, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov. The others have things they couldn't postpone." Jim answered.

Sam nodded_ "With Joanna and me, as well as the officers admiral Pike send with me as protection we're up to nine people. Shouldn't be a problem. We can all fit."_

"I take it the house is large enough." Jim was fishing for informations "Say, what officers did the admiral send?"

_"Yeah, it is. You'll see just how much when you get here. I suspect doctor… Bones will give you a tour or something. And to answer your question; admiral Pike sent lieutenant Rawlings and ensign Biordi."_

Jim nodded after few moments, he was somewhat familiar with the names but he couldn't exactly link them to faces. Guess that would change tomorrow.

"Bones should be returning soon so I'm going to cut this short. Well talk tomorrow."

_"Of course Jim. I'll see you tomorrow."_

"Yeah." He nodded "See you tomorrow."

* * *

><p><strong>4. The lyric used in this chapter is from the song <em>Save all your kisses for me<em> by _Brothehood of Men._ The last time I heard it it reminded me of McCoy and Joanna so much I just had to use it in the story. Hope you all like it :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p><em>"And now a moment we have all been waiting for." The reporter said to the camera before turning towards the house to observe the sight four cameras from different tv houses were recording. Two hovercars stopped in front of the house and for a moment nothing happened. And then suddenly the house's front door opened and a young girl ran out and stopped on top of the stairs.<em>

_A series of "Awww…" was heard as a smile spread on her face._

_Seconds later the passenger side door of the first car opened and a tall dark-haired man stepped out. Seconds later four more people exited the vehicles just in time to hear the young girl squeal before she ran down the flight of stairs and launch herself in the man's arms._

_A tall blonde woman dressed in a simple red dress exited the house and smiled at the sight and then slowly walked down the stairs and approached the driver of the first car and before he managed to say anything she hugged him._

_The reporter didn't appear on the screen but his voice was heard loud and clear "We will respect the wish of the McCoy family and not interfere with the touching moment of the reunion between a father and his daughter. But for our viewers I will introduce the company that arrived with doctor McCoy. They are all respected members of the Starfleet and members of the heroic crew of USS Enterprise._

_Apart from doctor Leonard McCoy we have here captain James Kirk, he is currently greeting his sister who had represented doctor McCoy in the legal process. The young blonde man is ensign Pavel Chekov, the brilliant navigator. The man next to him is lieutenant Hikaru Sulu, Enterprise's helmsman and apparently an expert in fencing. The only woman among them is the lovely lieutenant Nyota Uhura, a linguist and communication officer. All together we have the honor of seeing some of the officers in change of the Federation's flagship. And they are all here as a support for their crewmember and a friend. We will now leave the McCoy family and their friends enjoy this lovely day and see if they or some of the officers present would be willing to give us a short statement for our news tomorrow._

_And here, as a bonus, our viewers have a chance of seeing the good doctor giving his legal representative a hug. No doubt to thank her for the job well done._

_That is all from me now. Back to you Masaro."_

Jocelyn growled, grabbed a colorful vase from the coffee table, and threw it on the screen. She missed it by few inches and instead it hit the wall shattering into million pieces. Since she missed the image on the screen was still frozen in the moment the news director believed would best describe the latest report. The moment Leonard caught Joanna into his arms.

As the image faded and the reporter from the studio appeared on the screen Jocelyn picked the remote and turned off the television. She had seen enough.

Moments later Barbara and Lindelof Darnell walked in the room, seemingly unworried with their daughter's behavior. She was always melodramatic and truth to be told they tended to encourage it. After all that helped her in life several times.

But she knew better. This time it would take much more then that.

"So he got that brat… so what?" Barbara asked casually.

"He also got the house and the money, mother!" Jocelyn pointed out.

"Don't raise your voice at me!" Barbara snapped back "He got that? One tenth of the amount we got from him in the divorce? That's not a lot of credits, dear. And the house… that all things needs so much repairing done it's not even worth it."

"But it's my house… and my money… and my daughter!"

Barbara just waived her off "Oh, so you can have another one. It's not like Clay was thrilled to raise someone else's brat."

Jocelyn frowned "He would have accepted Joanna as his own. He said so himself."

"No man wants to raise a child spawned by another man. I don't know how you got the impression Clay was any different." Lindelof pointed out "Why do you think he was looking at schools off planet? Because he wanted her to have a first-class education? No, because he wanted McCoy's spawn as far away as possible."

Barbara turned to walk away but glanced at her daughter over her shoulder "Clean that mess up. And then go to your room. I'm expecting company in ten minutes and want everything to be perfect."

"Company?" Jocelyn asked curiously.

"Yes, the family lawyer will be arriving so he and I can go through the prenup Clay is suddenly demanding."

"Shouldn't I have a saying in it? After all I'm the one who is supposed to sign the damn thing?"

Barbara laughed "Don't be ridiculous dear… you have no saying while you are under my roof. Now do as I told you and clean the mess that you made and leave. I don't want to see you downstairs till the lawyer is gone."

Jocelyn nodded silently and picked the larger shards of the vase and took them to the trashcan in the kitchen before sweeping the rest of them and picking up the water and roses that scattered when the vase broke.

She despised her mother, now more then ever. She was the one that taught her it was better to get married wealthy then to work for your own credits and so far it all worked perfectly. But then it all fell apart. She lost everything: the house, the money… her friends didn't want to have anything to do wither anymore… Joanna… taking the girl away from Leonard forever would have been her greatest victory, it would have hurt him the most. But that damn girl had to get involved and ruin everything… take everything away from her… leaving her with nothing…

Nothing but a room in her parent's house and a prenup Clay demanded she signs otherwise the wedding was off.

She had no other choice but to sign it if she wanted to be someone again. Mrs. Jocelyn Treadway… it sounded so appealing she was willing to do anything for it. Even put up with Clay, the most unattractive man ever born in Atlanta. But he had the money and a name… what else does a woman need?

* * *

><p>Several groans could be heard around the table and Jim lifted his eyes, looked around at the gathered people, and asked seemingly confused "What?"<p>

Sam mad a gagging sound before Nyota laughed and the young captain frowned at both of them. They were obviously making fun of him.

"Jim, your food won't run away. You can slow down… I have no intention performing a Heimlich maneuver if you start to choke." McCoy silently wondered if a day could pass by without him having to lecture Jim Kirk about something.

"Are you saying you would let me choke? You're a doctor Bones! Don't you have some sort of obligation to help people? To save them?"

"I can't save people from their own stupidity." The doctor pointed out.

"Or bad manners." Sam added "Seriously Jim, the least you can do is close your mouth when you're chewing."

"Hey, this is all your fault!" he pointed a finger at his sister who just looked at him like he was insane "If the food wasn't so good I wouldn't be in such a rush to eat it all."

"Okay." Sam mumbled and stood up, took Jim's plate and walked to the kitchen.

A shock spread on Jim's face momentarily before he stood up too and ran after her "Hey, that didn't mean you can take my delicious food away! I don't want to eat some crap!"

"Language!" came from three different directions and Jim actually had the decency to look remorseful for using a bad work in Joanna's presence.

"Sorry." He muttered before glaring at his sister who was leaning against a kitchen counter and grinning at him, his plate still in her hand "Can I have that back now?"

"Do you promise to eat like a civilized being instead of setting a bad example for Joanna?"

Jim groaned "Fine. I promise. But seriously…" he added when she returned his plate to him "… I've been eating replicated food for a while now. It's not my fault freshly cooked food tastes so good."

Sam snorted "I know for sure you have freshly cooked food on board of Enterprise. You can't sell me that story Jim."

"Yeah, but no one cooks it as good as you." He said smiling charmingly.

"Now you're just sucking up." Sam deadpanned.

They were so engrossed in their bickering they didn't notice the amused looks they got from the rest of the gathered people. Even McCoy, who was well known for his grumpiness, was actually smiling. Something that didn't escape the trained eye of the ship's helmsman and navigator and they both shared a look before focusing once more on their plates.

They both had a pretty good feeling it would be little easier to live with the always ill-tempered CMO. That is unless you end up in his sickbay and it's your own fault you're there. They you can bet he's gonna hypospray your ass in the next week.

* * *

><p>The lunch was almost over when McCoy brought up a topic that bothered him for a while now "I'm surprised the second hearing happened so fast? I mean if they waited just three days later I could have testified myself. Wouldn't that be better for the case?"<p>

"Not that the case needed any help." Jim muttered before leaning in the chair and folding his hands at his stomach.

Sam rolled her eyes at her brother's attempt to suck up… again before focusing on the doctor "I was the one who pushed for the hearing to be repeated as fast as possible. I had a pretty solid case and didn't want to pull you in this whole thing again, not if I could prevent it. And the guys in charge obviously agreed with me. I do suspect that they were also under pressure because of the scandal with Korby. They probably wanted to do some damage control and believed your testimony would only complicate things for them. After all they placed Korby on his, now former, position and didn't want anyone questioning their credibility."

"Makes sense." Jim nodded "Someone might remember to ask if any of them accepted bribe to place him on the position of a main judge in Atlanta."

"Oh, we already did. The SFC is now investigating some of the supreme judges of the state of Georgia. Nothing alarming showed up so far but one can never know."

"So this thing could be larger then I believed it?" the doctor muttered to no one particular.

Joanna smiled at Sam and started to bounce in her seat "Tell daddy about the hearing. Tell him how you won."

Sam laughed at her enthusiasm "It would have been a whole lot harder if you weren't a good girl and answered all the questions I asked you truthfully."

"So the report was true?" McCoy looked at her "Jo testified?"

"Yes, I needed the judge to hear Joanna's side of the story. To hear her say you have been in contact with your ex-wife and that she prevented you from talking to Joanna."

He turned and looked at his daughter "You knew I was comming?"

Joanna nodded slowly before answering "I sometimes hid behind the corner so I can hear you talk to mom. I wanted to talk to you but I knew she would be angry if I walked in the room and you saw me. So I never did." she was silent for a moment before whispering "Are you angry at me?"

"Of course not." He kissed the top of her head "I'm very proud of you. I heard that grandma Barbara was very angry because of something you said."

"She was. But the nice judge wouldn't let her hurt me or anything. And then mister Decker got to ask questions but I don't know what about."

Sam snorted "Lieutenant Rawlings, since you were the one he questioned do you mind sharing your… um, personal experience with the rest?"

"Wait?" Jim interrupted "This was after what happened in the waiting room? The judge allowed the hearing to continue?"

"She merely wanted to make it fair, Jim. Jocelyn had a right to prove her case… or rather her lawyer."

"So, what happened? What did he ask?" the doctor looked at him former patient.

It took him a few minutes, when they all got together in the dining room, and both officers to mention their injuries before he remembered both Rawlings and Biordi. It feels like a lifetime since he treated them after Narada incident. And even though he couldn't remember them by their names right away he did remember the shattered bones and cranial hemorrhage.

Rawlings rolled his eyes "He asked me about regulations that prevented children from living onboard of Starfleet starships. I don't know if he didn't research the whole thing completely or was desperate by that time. Especially since there is no such regulation. I mean it may not be the most common thing but it's certainly not unheard of. I also pointed out that ships with children onboard usually have extra security and shields around school cabins and any other places where they might be… just in case. And if I'm not mistaken Sam actually said all that first day when they were arguing and Decker wanted for the original verdict to be accepted."

"It pretty much buried his case because by then he became even more desperate and wanted me to take the stand." Sam added and everyone looked at her.

"Why in the world would he want that?" Jim asked.

"What happened? Did the judge allow it?" Nyota, who was silent till now and just listening, asked. She too was completely surprised by the lawyer's way of handling a case.

"The judge got both of us in her chamber." Sam started to laugh "Now that was one experience I will never forget."

"Do we want to know?" Jim asked suspiciously.

"Of course we do!" his CMO glared at him.

Sam shook her head and started to laugh again "He wanted to ruin both mine and yours credibility at the same time."

"Mine? How?" the doctor was confused.

"By proving we had a thing while you were still married." She said grinning.

Jim snorted before punching his friend in the shoulder "Man, Bones… why haven't you ever told me you has something with my sister?"

"Man, Jim… why haven't you ever told me you had a sister?"

Jim rolled his eyes "You know why."

"What does that mean?" Joanna asked, not understanding "Was Sam your girlfriend daddy?"

Everyone chuckled at doctor's shocked expression and blush that was spreading across Sam's face.

"I never met Sam before today sweetie. Your mom's lawyer wanted to prove something that never happened."

"Why?" she asked.

"Because he didn't know what else to do." Sam offered an explanation "He knew I won and he wanted… I don't know what he wanted… that man was very confusing… and constantly objected to everything…"

"I noticed that. It was silly… and his face would turn red too."

Innocence that radiated of Joanna made everyone smile. She made things seem so simple and effortless. And even though they weren't, even though it took a large legal battle for her to finally be reunited with her father it was obvious to anyone… it was worth it.

"Okay." Sulu suddenly interrupted the silence "Now I have a question. What exactly did you accomplish apart from the getting the doctor sole custody? The reporter mentioned the house too and since we're in it I'll take it that was correct."

Sam nodded "Yes, the house is now listed as property of Leonard McCoy." She looked at the doctor before adding "As well as all other assets Jocelyn Darnell received during the divorce settlement. That includes the hovercar, several antique paintings and family heirlooms, the country house and all the land that came with it as well as the credits. Although… the credits aren't all returned and the judge can't legally force Jocelyn to return what she spent in the past five years."

"The credits aren't important as the rest of it is… some things more then the other." The doctor said as calmly as he could. He was truly surprised she accomplished all that. He believed it was possible, since he was cheated out of it all, but he didn't dare hoping. All he cared for was Joanna anyway.

"Once the fiasco of the first hearing was done I requested for all assets to be frozen just in case. For both Jocelyn and her parents. That included the inventory I mentioned previously. I didn't want them selling anything out of spite if nothing else." Sam mentioned casually before grinning "Apparently I ruined her shopping for a wedding dress."

"That thing was ugly anyway." Joanna muttered and made everyone laugh.

Jim just opened his mouth to say something when Sam interrupted him "Oh, and before I forget I also handled things with the Atlanta Medical Center. The director was smart enough to see things my way before he too was pulled into the scandal."

"A deal?" now that made McCoy extremely interested.

"Yeah. Since you got fired for no legal reason and someone falsified a letter of resignation and signing your name… both things easily proven he decided that it would be in the Center's best interest to compensate you." She took a deep breath before finally saying "In the next week or so they will transfer to your account the amount of credits you would have earned in the past five years if you haven't been fired. All at once. I don't know the correct number but it's something around-"

"Never mind." McCoy interrupted her.

"Oh, no… No way Bones… You can't get out of this one…" Jim was shaking his head and grinning.

"What are you talking about?"

The captain grinned even more, somehow "You are paying the next round."

Sam groaned "Seriously Jim…"

* * *

><p>An hour later everyone gathered in the living room. It was a wonderful day and they would have gladly spent it outside but the reporters were still camping across the street.<p>

Sam explained someone would have to give a statement to the press cause they won't give up in trying to get some footage. Both Jim and McCoy agreed to do so tomorrow.

Joanna was bouncing in her seat for the past ten minutes before she finally couldn't take it anymore and asked Sam "Can we have the cake now?"

Jim instantly perked "You made a cake?"

His sister merely rolled his eyes on his childish enthusiasm when it came to sweets before smiling at Joanna "I suppose now is the good time as any."

"Hold it." Nyota suddenly said before running to the room she and Sam would be sharing while in Atlanta before she returned with a camera few minutes later "I promised some recordings for the guys on the ship. You don't mind doctor?"

"No, I don't. I understand they are all curious."

"Wow, so easily to persuade… I can hardly recognize you Bones." Jim joked as Nyota turned on the camera and started recording.

"Actually Jim…" Sam's voice came from the direction of the kitchen "… it's no longer correct to call him Bones!"

She walked in the room carrying the cake, closely followed by Joanna who was carrying plates and forks. Sam placed the cake on the coffee table in front of McCoy and turning it so it was facing him.

It was a simple square cake with white frosting on the sides but blue and green frosting on the top. And although crudely made and not even nearly geographically correct he could clearly recognize that on the top she drew the map of the world.

"Jim told me your nickname was a result of you telling him you lost the entire world in the divorce. I wanted to give it back to you." Sam explained.

As Joanna sat next to her daddy everyone could see tears forming in his eyes, especially when he wrapped an arm around his little girl. He then looked at Sam and smiled widely before telling her "You already did."

* * *

><p><strong>4. Oh, wow! This turned out better then I planed, if I may say so… Sorry about the long wait, I kept telling myself I'll write tomorrow and that tomorrow constantly got postponed. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took me 197 minutes to write it, and I enjoyed in every single one. <strong>

**5. No, the story isn't finished. There are 3 more chapters to come.**


	13. Chapter 13

**1. I don't own Star Trek or any of the characters**

**2. Instead of making up new characters I used some that already existed in ST universe and gave them new positions and personalities**

**3. I don't have a beta so excuse the mistakes, I'm rereading each chapter before posting it but sometimes they just pull through**

* * *

><p>Joanna never saw anything like it before and her wonder was visible on her face for all to see.<p>

San Francisco; the large city with modern buildings, architectural wonders, multitude of different species walking around and what's most important for the young girl it was also where the Starfleet Academy was.

She hadn't told her daddy this yet but she planed to join too someday when she's grown up. She only told Sam who assured her her dad would be happy. That he would be proud. And Sam was the smartest woman she knew so if she said something like that then Joanna believed her.

The Enterprise CMO smiled seeing the young girl next to him looking attentively out of the shuttle window. She inherited several things from him but one thing he was extremely happy she didn't; his fear of flying.

Jim must have noticed it too cause he was chuckling from his seat behind him. He rolled his eyes but a smile escaped him when Sam punched her brother in the hand.

"You know you just assaulted a Starfleet officer?" he asked calmly.

Sam snorted "It was self defense. I have a witness." She pointed at the seat in front of Jim where his friend 'Bones' was sitting.

"Please, Bones would never testify to that."

"Sure I would" he said turning back and looking at the siblings "You provoked her. Her response was justified."

Jim placed a hand on his heart "Bones, I'm hurt."

"I can give you a hypospray against pain if you want." The doctor joked knowing exactly what the answer would be.

"No, I'm okay. All better now."

Sam snorted "You are such a baby Jim."

The young captain glared at his grinning sister "You may think that now but is Bones ever gives you a hypo you'll know why I tend to avoid the medbay."

"Please, I have to growl at you to leave the medbay cause you are distracting my nurses." McCoy pointed out and pretty much ruined Jim's statement.

"What, I can't help it that I'm this good looking." He then turned at his sister and asked "What?"

Samuelle desperately tried to prevent the laughter from escaping her but she feared she might crack a rib in the process. She remembered Jim stories about the girls from the school, back while they were in regular contact, and she realized he hadn't changed much. If anything it got even worse.

Joanna turned and looked at Sam when the blonde woman started to laugh wholeheartedly. She was far too distracted by the view from the window and didn't listen on the conversation around her and was now interested in what she missed.

"Jim was just being silly." Her daddy said calmly before looking back at his friend and shaking his head "You'll get used to it."

"Don't listen to him." Jim said leaning forward and whispering only to her, or so she thought because he was intentionally loud enough for Bones and his sister to hear him "I'm only acting silly when off duty and in your dad's presence cause I know it annoys him."

Joanna giggled "Really?"

"No." a new voice surprised the little girl and she saw Nyota's face peeking between Jim and Sam's seats, just like she was between her's and her dad's "He acts silly around other people too."

Jim turned towards the linguist "Wow, I'm surrounded by traitors."

"Don't get all melodramatic Jim." Sam rolled her eyes at his childish behavior "They wouldn't tease you like they do if they didn't considered you to be their friend and weren't comfortable around you."

Jim beamed "You're right. We're buddies." He grinned in Nyota's direction.

"And some of us are slightly delusional." She muttered before leaning back in her seat.

"Say what you want, I know you consider me your friend." Jim said in a-matter-of-fact tone to the lovely linguist and she just smiled and shook her head in disbelief. Jim Kirk was childish and immature but he was also competent and smart and respected every single crew member on the Enterprise and in return they respected him. And he was right; she did consider him a friend. One of those annoying friends who bothered you when you needed some peace and made sassy comments at the all wrong moments… but he was still a friend.

"If I say 'yes' will you leave me alone?" she asked fully knowing the answer.

Jim snorted "Of course not."

"Yeah, didn't think so." Nyota smiled and leaned back in the seat just as the captain announced they were landing in five minutes.

"Bones, all buckled up?" Jim asked grinning and Sam groaned. Her brother sometimes had the attention span of a goldfish. The gift of being able to annoy several people at the same time was obviously limited only to Jim as was the ability to switch from one subject to another one that had absolutely nothing to do with the previous one.

Something that would give normal people a whiplash. But not to Jim.

Smiling to herself Sam simply had to admit… she missed him and his foolishness. And she was glad the years and Starfleet haven't changed him. No matter what he claims.

* * *

><p>"Okay folks, I made sure we have housing on the Academy grounds before we left for Atlanta so we should probably head there first to drop our bags before going out." Jim went into a captain mode as they were exiting the shuttle.<p>

"Going out?" the doctor huffed "Jim, you can't just drag us into some bar like you used to drag me during the time we were cadets. It's not a fitting place for Joanna." He was annoyed by his friend's idea.

"I know that Bones. I meant something along the line of a restaurant or a pizza place. I would never lead Joanna into a bar and I'm hurt that you would even think that."

"You're getting melodramatic again Jim." Sam pointed out "What is it with you today?"

"Maybe I'm in a melodramatic mood. Ever though of that, hm?"

"I promised Chekov that I would visit a Russian restaurant that opened a few moths ago on the main street." Nyota interrupted the siblings and their taunting "We could all go there."

Jim grinned at her "You should invite Spock along." He suggested before turning to Joanna "Spock is my first officer. He is also a Vulcan. Ever met one?"

"No." Joanna answered shortly "I never met someone who wasn't Terran."

"We'll lucky for you here in San Francisco we have pretty much all species from the Federation planets coexisting together so there will be plenty of opportunity for you." Jim was grinning like a kid, it was possible he was more excited then Joanna was at the prospect.

"Just remember not to stare." Sam pointed out "Some might not like that."

"I won't." the little girl answered "I know that just cause they look different on the outside they are all the same on the inside."

"That's not exactly true." Her dad pointed out "From the medical point of view-"

"We're not talking about the medical point-of-view." Sam interrupted the doctor and Jim grinned. He liked when people did that to Bones cause it annoyed the doctor. But this time there was no response. He didn't answer back.

"Yeah, I meant that they are all good on the inside so it doesn't matter what they look like."

"There are bad people out there Joanna." Jim said calmly "People who hurt others."

The young girl nodded "I know." She then turned and looked at her dad "Was mom a bad person too?"

McCoy fought the urge to answer 'yes' to the question but before he managed to say anything Sam cut him off "Your mom wasn't a bad person. She just wanted to have everything her way. That doesn't make a person bad."

"No, it makes them control freaks." Jim commented and his sister glared at him.

"It makes them do things that aren't right and yes, sometimes they hurt other people with their actions, but they usually have good intentions." Sam was being more diplomatic then her brother.

"Usually being the key word." The captain wasn't giving up.

"Your mom was selfish. Not bad." McCoy finally said interrupting the siblings "She wanted you all for herself."

"I'm glad she didn't get me." Joanna whispered but she wasn't silent enough and they heard her.

"I'm glad too." Her dad offered his hand and she took it enthusiastically.

"Me too. It's going to be so much fun having you onboard." Jim said grinning.

"Just don't forget she's onboard and get us into more trouble then we can take it." The doctor deadpanned.

A snort escaped Jim "Wow, I actually expected you to warn me not to get into trouble at all."

Sam casually placed a hand on her brother's shoulder and leaned towards him "Too late. He knows you too well and knows that you completely avoiding trouble is impossible. It would ruin cosmic balance of things."

"Don't you think you're exaggerating a bit?" Jim asked his now grinning sister.

"I'm a lawyer. It's what we do. It's part of the job description." Her blue eyes were glittering with mischief and a small smile adored her lips. Jim couldn't help but smile back.

He really missed Sam and was glad the school and the responsibilities she now had didn't changed her sense of humor. It would have been a shame.

Nyota huffed "Now that we covered all that what about the restaurant. Are we going to the Russian one together or not?"

Truth to be told she wasn't certain why she pressed the matter of them all going together. After all they spend a lot of time together on the ship and one would expect they all part ways when coming planetside. But not the crew of the Enterprise. They always find things to do together or at least separated in smaller groups. Right now Chekov and Sulu were on their way to Russia and Scotty would be joining them in few days after completing the diagnostics. He didn't trust anyone else to do it.

"Sure thing." The captain turned to her and grinned "And I was serious when I suggested we invite Spock along. That way he can meat our new crewmember in a more relaxed environment. Not that the environment would matter to Spock."

"I'll comm. him as soon as we are in our quarters."

"Okay them." Jim stopped in front of one of the buildings where visiting officer quarters were situated "We'll meet right here at seven. Everyone agree?" when everyone nodded he looked at his sister "You'll be staying in the different building. I tried to get you a place with the rest of us but you aren't a Starfleet officer."

She looked around noticing several similar looking buildings in the surrounding area "Which one?"

"I'll walk you there." He said before looking at his friend "Bones, could you-"

"I'll get your bag upstairs. Same quarters again?"

"For you since Joanna will be staying with you. Mine are right across. Uhura you are on the forth floor, number 409."

"Alright." The linguist nodded before focusing at Sam and greeting the blonde woman and then entering the building behind her with the doctor and his daughter behind her.

Jim pointed in the right direction and they continued to walk "Tell me about Rawlings and Biordi. How was it with them shadowing you?"

"Safe." His sister said honestly "They can appear very intimidating when they want. And it was good having them with me at the second hearing. It gave judge Rand the image of Starfleet standing behind the doctor."

"So admiral Pike made a good choice sending them?"

"It was a very good choice." She agreed "It's a pity they were send on a new assignment."

* * *

><p>The evening was rather chilly for this time of the year and it caused a frown on Sam's face. When she left Paris she only packed dresses cause they are more court appropriate and because she didn't expect such a drastic temperature fall in the middle of May. It was frustrating.<p>

Digging through her suitcase Sam did manage to find one dress that actually had long sleeves, or actually it was a thin sweater that went along with the dress that had long sleeves. It was the dress she wanted to sear at the hearing hut her silent shadows persuaded her not to.

The sweater itself cannot be buttoned and the dress had a rather unusual neckline. It reminded Sam of the red dresses wore by Starfleet cadets. That was the main reason she wanted to wear it in courtroom in the first place.

She sighed. Guess that one will have to do. It reached just below her knees so with closed shoes it shouldn't be so bad. Unless the restaurant is having a Siberian week.

She exited her quarters and walked down to the main lobby. She could already see Jim waiting for her outside and she hurried. Her brother was a lot of things but he wasn't patient. And she didn't want to listen to him bitch and moan about waiting for her the entire evening. She just wanted to enjoy this unexpected outing.

As she opened the glass door she noticed another man outside with her younger brother. An older looking man in a wheelchair.

They never met in person but she knew exactly who he was. After all they spoke on several occasions over the comm. in the past week.

"Admiral Pike, it is good to finally meet you. Will you be joining us as well?" she instantly went into her polite mode. If Jim were outside alone he wouldn't get such a nice greeting.

"Ah, miss Kirk. A pleasure to finally meet you." The admiral offered a hand and she happily shook it "I have to admit I haven't planed to come along but your brother is a very persuasive men."

"Admit it, admiral." Jim couldn't help but comment "You needed a break."

"Those reports won't read and sign themselves Kirk." The admiral pointed out.

"That's what Bones says every time. But he manages to do everything on time anyway."

Sam rolled her eyes "You need to stop distracting people from their jobs."

Her brother grinned "Now where would be the fun in that?"

"Annoyance."

"Spoilsport."

"Immature."

"Uptight."

"Child."

"Old woman."

"Fascinating" all three of them turned towards the Vulcan that stood few feet away and observed them with interest "I presume this is a normal occurrence among siblings."

"Yes." Both Jim and Sam answered at the same time and the admiral chuckled.

"Sam, this is Spock." Nyota appeared from behind the Vulcan "He is Jim's first officer."

"I am aware." Sam said before focusing on the serious looking man "It is a honor to meet you."

She didn't offer a hand and wasn't surprised when he didn't either. Vulcan's weren't tactile race and never initiated contact if it could be avoided. Instead his hands were clasped behind his back like it was common for Starfleet officers. It made Sam wonder if he ever relaxed from his role as an officer.

"Likewise." He said shortly.

"Shall we?" the admiral asked interrupting the silence.

"Bones and Jo aren't here yet." Jim pointed out the obvious before his sister poked him in the arm and pointed to two figures behind them in the park.

Jim turned and saw his friend and his little girl walking towards them. The young girl was holding her dad's hand tightly and Jim felt a flash of anger towards the long dead Romulan for denying him the same when he was a child.

Joanna grinned as they approached before she focused on two unfamiliar faces "Hello. I'm Joanna McCoy."

"Jo, this is admiral Pike." Jim introduced the man next to him first "He is very important."

"I know that." Joanna said at the same time as Sam muttered "Sucking up, Jim?"

But her question was intentionally unanswered and the captain introduced his first officer to the young girl. Joanna was, of course, more fascinated by the Vulcan then by the human in a wheelchair. She seen those before but Spock was the first alien she ever encountered. But she did the polite thing and just greeted them both… and didn't stare.

"Well, now that we are all assembled let's get going." Admiral Pike said before he started to drive away from the group and instantly they followed "Where are we going anyway? Not in a bar I hope."

Jim was fighting a frown that wanted to appear, why did everyone thought he would take Joanna in a bar or anywhere else for that matter that wasn't appropriate for a nine-year-old? He wasn't stupid "Chekov made us promise that we would visit a Russian restaurant. He was very enthusiastic about it opening and believed everyone should try the food."

"Haven't visited that one yet." The admiral mused out loud "Might as well do it tonight."

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><p>Jim leaned in his chair and smiled lazily "This is way better then things I had to eat this last few days."<p>

A stiff silence suddenly spread through the table as Samuelle who was explaining some details regarding the hearing to admiral Pike stopped talking and turned towards her brother.

"Bad move Jim." McCoy muttered and the captain looked at him confused.

"What?"

"Last few days? We were in Atlanta last few days." He pointed out.

But Jim still didn't understand what he meant "I'm not following you."

"Who cooked while you were in Atlanta?" Spock asked calmly and the admiral shook his head. He was pretty sure he knew the answer.

"Sam did, of course… oh…" Jim turned towards his sister "I'm going to get a bowl of salad on my head?"

"It wouldn't be fun since you're expecting it." She grinned at him and Jim leaned away from her.

"You're scaring me." He joked .

Sam snorted "Good. You need a dose of fear every now and then. It prevents you from getting too cocky."

"It takes more then a dose of fear to prevent it." McCoy deadpanned and everyone chuckled. Well, everyone except Spock. But Sam could have sworn she saw a tiny shadow of a smile on his face.

"Are you ready to live on a starship?" admiral Pike focused on the youngest person at the table.

Joanna smiled at the older man and nodded "I wanted to live with my dad among the stars for a long time now. I'm glad I get to finally do it."

"There will be some rules you have to respect; I'm not sure if your dad mentioned them to you already."

The little girl shook her head and the doctor explained "I didn't want to bother her with it while we were in Atlanta. I planed to do it few days before we go back onboard."

"Makes sense." The admiral agreed but Joanna was now intrigued.

"What kind of rules?"

"Nothing bad, just rules that are to ensure you are safe." Jim piped in assuring her "Rules like 'no helping Scotty with repairs in the engineering'."

"Be serious Jim." Sam frowned at her brother but he just grinned.

"He is serious." Nyota said laughing slightly "Scotty is an extraordinary engineer but accidents sometimes happen."

"Admiral Archer is still expecting his dog to be returned safely and in one piece." Admiral Pike commented and Jim snorted.

When Sam looked at him confused he just said "A transwarp experiment that didn't went as planed. The dog was the gunny pig."

"It doesn't happen often that I can't find the right words but it happened right now." Sam finally muttered after few seconds of silence "He actually used a dog that belongs to an admiral? Why?"

"Cause it wouldn't be so dramatic if he used a grapefruit." Jim's voice way dead calm.

After few more seconds of silence Sam looked at Joanna "You really shouldn't go to engineering. I wouldn't want to comm. Jim to talk to him only to find out they can't find you."

Joanna grinned at first before she frowned "Comm.? You're not coming with us?"

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><p><strong>4. I re-uploaded this chapter cause the first version had many spelling errors. Everything looked fine to me till I uploaded the text into a spell check thingy and many words turned red. Ups...<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**_I apologize for the long wait. My inspiration abandoned me after a rather long and detailed review about how much and why my story sucks. Next time anyone wishes to do so please log in. That way I can return the favor._**

**_But it helped going through all the wonderful reviews and reading how many people actually liked what I wrote and what I did with the characters. And for that I'm sending you all one huge THANK YOU!_**

**_The disclaimer still stands: I didn't miraculously came in the possession of Star Trek since the last time I updated the story._**

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><p><strong><em>Epilog: Spock Prime's POV<em>**

_It's been years since we talked about past, about the events that made us into the men we became. Back then, in my own time, I couldn't even imagine life being different. Everything that happened had to happen. It was right the way it was and any other way would have been wrong._

_But I see now I was wrong._

_Back then Jim used to talk about his father with pride. George Kirk was a good man and a great father. He was a role model for many young cadets as well as officers. He was also the reason Jim joined Starfleet and set a goal of becoming a captain of a starship someday. And he accomplished all he wanted and more. He because just as great as his father did._

_And yet… my old friend's accomplishment looks dull now… now that I have seen another version of life._

_As I look around the room I see changes all around me. Enterprise isn't what I remember it; the crew, as familiar as they are, are no longer the same men and women I used to know. Things changed in this timeline, some were subtle and I barely recognized the difference. Some were obvious and I enjoyed spending time comparing them._

_And some… left me in awe._

_Five years have passed since my arrival through the black hole… since Nero destroyed my home and with it ended the lives of millions of Vulcans. A loss some doubted we could recover from. But our race is strong. Tough, as Jim would say._

_I helped in finding a new home for us, a place where we could start anew. Rebuild our homes; remember our traditions… raise our children._

_So few of them were saved it would take decades, perhaps even centuries until our race is back on its feet. Until we are no longer considered endangered. But we are patient, we will prevail this hardship. I do not believe I will live to see that day but I know another who might._

_Enterprise finished it's five-year mission. First among many that would come. And the crew, as well as guests from the different Federation planets were enjoying a small party._

_My eyes focus on two men standing calmly next to each other and speaking politely for few minutes before a beautiful young woman joins them. She is now a part of the family and I can't help it but remember the ones I left behind. The family I used to have._

_Laughter reaches me and my mind abandons those dark thoughts and instead rejoices._

_Before I believed there was only one path for me, now I see another one._

_Nyota brought my younger self from a shell that he wore for so long, protecting himself from others and preventing them from seeing the true him. He had seized trying to be a full-blooded Vulcan and accepted the blessings his mother has left for him. He accepted that there are some emotions it is not wrong to show. Affection was one of them._

_A mention of Russia somewhere behind me causes a small smile to appear on my face and I don't even have the desire to make it disappear._

_Pavel Chekov, the best navigator I had met in my career… now no longer but a legend in my own time. But here…_

_A twenty-two-year-old young man with a childlike face and a genius mind is not the same person I used to know. Maybe it was because I had met him when he was older and more experienced, maybe because back in that time he didn't see things he had seen here, maybe a combination of those things… maybe none of those things…_

_There were still similarities, yes, but the differences were hard to oversee._

_And then another old friend joined him._

_Jim was right when he said it wasn't a Enterprise unless Sulu was at the helm and he was right. Even if he was a replacement._

_I learned awhile ago that another helmsman was meant for the position but became ill right before the first flight. I don't know if it was fate or a coincidence but I am glad the path is the same in both timelines. No other could fly the Enterprise so skillfully as Hikaru Sulu; no other could pull those maneuvers and save the ship from destruction first by Nero's hand and then from all the others who wished to damage the Federation by destroying its flagship._

_Its beacon in the darkest of times._

_And as I stand surrounded by the living ghosts from my past another friend I lost enters my line of sight. And once more a smile appears on my face._

_She was as lovely as I remember. But I never told her that._

_Nurse Christine Chapel, the support beam of the medbay, and according to doctor McCoy the best head nurse he could wish for. I wonder if that remained the same because I can't imagine her being anything else then dedicated to her calling and her patients._

_I was there on her promotion when she became a doctor so many years ago. I wanted to be therefore her as a fellow crew member, as a friend, since I didn't know how to be anything more to her. Something I regretted in the years that came, in the years since she passed away._

_But seeing her like this; so young and full of life, it is the best medicine for an old man who didn't know how to love; and didn't wish to learn._

_A young girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere and I looked at her in awe. Yet another life whose path was changed when I failed in my mission. She took Christine's hand and pointed towards the man that was walking towards them._

_I remember Leonard Horatio McCoy very good. Despite our disagreements, that were often rather childish, I considered him one of my closest friends. And I truly regret his path changed the way it did in this timeline._

_I have learned from my younger self about the custody battle, about the good doctor losing everything that was his to the woman he was once married to and that it was that what got him to enlist in Starfleet. Because they were his only option, because they weren't biased or could be persuaded by personal connections not to let him among their ranks._

_But then again… Looking back at that; at action and reaction; I can see the results of him enlisting all around me. And what's more important I can see it through the large window on my right. Earth, still existing. Still whole and beautiful._

_What if? It is one of the questions humans ask themselves often. What if the doctor didn't went through such a harsh time? What if he didn't enlist in Starfleet when he did? What if because of that he didn't become friends with Jim?_

_And most important… what if he didn't get Jim onboard of the Enterprise the way he did?_

_Oh, I have no doubt Jim would find a way. He is resourceful after all._

_But what if…?_

_The possible scenario frightens me, I admit it. Earth destroyed like Vulcan… it would be the end of the Federation._

_So maybe it was meant to be like this in this timeline, just as his life was different in the one I came from. But I am glad in the end he got back what he lost… mostly her._

_Joanna McCoy, the future Starfleet cadet, I have no doubt. I have spoken only briefly with my younger self about the girl and yet I received the impression she left him in awe. A bright child she was, no doubt about it. Her father's daughter._

_"Sam!" the young child's voice called and I looked at the woman that approached them. A drastic change._

_Samuelle Georgie Kirk, Jim Kirk's older sibling and a lifetime long best friend. Only… I remember Samuel, the older son of Winona and George Kirk, not a daughter._

_Strange how one small change can matter so much._

_But it is fascination that the change didn't happen because of me... because of Nero. Samuelle was born before Narada destroyed Kelvin._

_Was it all destined to happen before my failed mission changed the course of time for all this men and women? That is a question that will never be answered._

_"Perhaps you should join them." A voice made me turn around and move my eyes from the small group of friends._

_"I do not wish to interfere in their conversation." I stated simply but Jim obviously didn't accept that as a valid excuse._

_"Bones knows who you are, I cold never keep something like that from him. He reads me like an open book. Chapel probably too, she jut knows things; must be a treat among nurses. Joanna will see you as a friend of her dad and that's all she needs. And Sam…"_

_"You are not certain how your sister would react?"_

_"We haven't had the greatest relationship but we are working on it. She was the one who helped Bones get custody over Jo. And helped me numerous times during negotiations. Apparently people talked to her when they refused to talk to me. Even though I was right there and she was comm. linked to whichever planet we were on cause she can't leave Paris."_

_"You must understand that you first and foremost represent Starfleet. While she spoke for the Federation. There is a difference."_

_"So we should have someone onboard who isn't a member of Starfleet to run the negotiations?"_

_"Perhaps not." I tried to clarify "Not all will have something against talking to you. But some fear that joining Federation means having to send a certain number of people to join Starfleet every year."_

_"But that is not mandatory." Jim pointed out "Don't they understand that? Don't they understand that it's a privilege?"_

_"That is on you to explain to them Jim." I told him calmly and he just nodded "Now, why don't you introduce me to your sister. I heard some things about her but not much."_

_As we began walking towards the group Jim began to share some things about his sibling "Jo hoped Sam would join us on the Enterprise but my sister has find her calling planetside at Supreme Federation Court. I'm actually waiting at the day she would inform me she became a main prosecutor. But since that didn't happen yet her greatest accomplishment is…"_

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><p><strong><em>Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.<em>**

**_THE END_**

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><p><strong>The next ST story is planed but will be postponed because I decided to reuse the idea I had for Twilight. Since Star Trek characters are WAY better fitting for this type of humor (and I like them) I'll be placing them in a rather unusual situation.<strong>

**It will probably be rated M because of language but the content won't actually be mature. Just Jim saying funny things. And answering funny questions. And annoying Bones. And Uhura. And Spock. And Pike. Should I go on?**


End file.
